A suspicious package that turned out to be a simple battery in a box temporarily shut down part of the Langley Mall parking lot on Wednesday afternoon.
The box was found near the TD Bank ATM, near the centre of the Langley strip mall, said Sgt. Loi Ly of the Langley RCMP.
The box, with an Amazon.com return label on it, may have simply been left by accident near the ATM, Ly said.
Police determined the address, in Edmonton, was legitimate, and so was the business that sold the battery.
The Explosives Disposal Unit was called out to Langley to check out the item before the scene was cleared and normal traffic resumed at around 3:30 p.m.
“Suddenly, I saw two police dogs and a big white bomb truck arrive,” recounted Brittany, who witnessed the police rolling up on the scene. They were later told a box was discovered near the ATM “with writing all over.”
Another passerby, Paul, said “There was police tape everywhere,” noting the incident started at about 1:30 p.m.
About a quarter of the mall at Douglas Crescent – between 203rd and 204th Streets – was blocked off. But witnesses say none of the businesses were actually closed during the investigation.
This is the second time this year there’s been a false alarm over a suspicious package downtown.
On New Year’s Day, part of the downtown near the mall and the Timms Community Centre was shut down over what turned out to be a box of neatly-packed trash.
READ MORE: Downtown Langley reopened after suspicious package inspected