New Westminster courthouse area safe to return to after Tuesday morning evacuation

Police say the courthouse in New Westminster, B.C., and surrounding streets and buildings including Douglas College are open to the public again after people were evacuated from the area due to a threat made at the courthouse Tuesday morning. 

New Westminster Police Department Sgt. Andrew Leaver said he could not speak to the nature of the threat, which police became aware of around 10:30 a.m. PT.

He said police worked alongside fire and rescue services, paramedics, integrated police dog services and the RCMP's emergency response team as a perimeter was established around the courthouse and several city blocks were closed.

"Out of an abundance of caution we evacuated the area and asked people to leave so our officers could begin their investigation, methodically search the area," Leaver said Tuesday afternoon on CBC's On The Coast. 

"We're still working to determine who, what, where this came from.

The threat was deemed over and streets began reopening around 2:30 p.m.

Leaver said the Major Crime Unit has taken over the investigation. 

"The courthouse is obviously a very sensitive target. Whether or not it's tied to the courthouse is part of the investigation," he said. 

The provincial court will remain closed for the rest of Tuesday but will reopen as usual Wednesday, the B.C. provincial court said in a post shared to X, formerly Twitter. 

Douglas College wrote in a post on X on Tuesday morning that its New Westminster campus was being evacuated "due to an ongoing police incident" at the courthouse next door.

It asked those inside to evacuate toward Eighth Street or Royal Avenue and noted the college parkade was closed and vehicles were not accessible. 

The school later said all in-person classes and activities would resume at 3 p.m. as scheduled, and the parkades had reopened. 

Hundreds of evacuated students and staff could be seen outside the Douglas College campus early Tuesday afternoon. 

Tuesday marked Sara Bazzoni's second day as a student at the college. She was told she wasn't allowed to enter when she arrived for class. 

"Just hoping that it's some false alarm and everything will be good," said Bazzoni.

Les Cole, who works at the nearby Sprott Shaw College, said staff were initially told to shelter in place and then later instructed to evacuate. 

"Almost all the students have gone home," said Cole. "I'm not too worried about my safety."