Police safely dispose of explosive device in Sydney, N.S.

A grenade was found in a Sydney, N.S., business on Wednesday.

A live grenade was found in Sydney, N.S., Wednesday morning according to an emergency alert issued by the province.

Cape Breton Regional Police Service says they were called to 153 Pitt St. around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday after the item was found inside a building on the property.

“Officers responded and noticed a broken window. As they went inside, they found an item that appeared to be an explosive device,” said Staff Sgt. Darren Barrington of the Cape Breton Regional Police when speaking to reporters Wednesday.

Officers evacuated nearby buildings and closed the street to vehicles and pedestrians.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m., police confirmed the explosive device was a grenade.

When asked if the grenade was thrown into the property, Barrington said, “We don’t know exactly at this point what happened, but it does appear that way.”

An explosive unit and military personnel were called to remove the grenade later in the afternoon. Around 6:30 p.m., police confirmed the unit had safely disposed of the explosive.

“Evacuations have been lifted and the area has reopened to public access,” police said in a Facebook post. “An investigation into the incident is ongoing.”

Police would not confirm if there were any suspects, citing the ongoing investigation.

“It appears to be an isolated incident,” he said. “If it becomes more than that, we’ll let the public know.”

-With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.

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