Two men in custody following weapons complaint at Halifax Shopping Centret

Police have reopened the area around the mall, say there is no longer a public safety threat

CBC News · 

Two men are in custody following a weapons complaint around the Halifax Shopping Centre Tuesday and police say there is no longer a threat to public safety in the area.

At 3:31 p.m., Halifax Regional Police tweeted that the area around the mall has been reopened.

Police said earlier there have been no reports of injuries or shots fired near the mall on Mumford Road. They have not given details of the nature of the weapons call.

Sunny Jamwal was at Sport Chek with his mother and father. They were in separate departments when he said he heard people yelling loudly.

“I looked back and there were cops with guns telling everybody to get down, so we just got down on the floor,” he said.

Jamwal said he and others in the store stayed on the floor for about 20 minutes, surrounded by police, before officers led them out of the building.

At this point, Jamwal didn’t know where his parents were or whether they had gotten out. He said he was concerned because his parents don’t speak English.

After an hour of searching, they were reunited near Jamwal’s car.

“My mom is literally shaking, her legs are still shaking,” he said. “I’m still shaking. I was more worried about them when I couldn’t find them.”

He said he’s thankful for everyone who helped his parents out of the mall.

“People were really nice to them, they made sure they found my car and they stayed with them until I came back…. This is amazing. People are nice in Nova Scotia for sure,” said Jamwal.

Police have taken two men into custody in relation to the weapons investigation at the Halifax Shopping Center. There is no threat to public safety at this time. Police are reopening the area to the public.

— Halifax_Police (@HfxRegPolice) March 1, 2022

Schools placed under ‘hold and secure’

Police had urged people to avoid the mall.

Three nearby schools were placed under what’s known as a hold and secure:

• St. Catherine’s Elementary School on Connolly Street.
• St. Agnes Junior High on Mumford Road.
• Westmount Elementary School on Edward Arab Avenue.

In an email to parents, St. Catherine’s Elementary School said the action was a precautionary measure and “all students and staff are safe, and our building is secure.”

A hold and secure involves controlling access to the school in response to an external safety concern. Students are still able to move freely within the building.

At around 2:40 p.m., parents of students at St. Catherine’s school were notified the hold and secure had been lifted and student were to be dismissed at the usual time.