Razor blades found in Halloween candy of 2 trick-or-treaters, say police
12-year-old slashed thumb open when reaching into candy stash, 13-year-old girl was not injured
Halifax Regional Police are investigating two incidents of candy tampering after they say a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl found razor blades inside chocolate bars.
Police said a blade was found in the wrapper of a Kit Kat bar on Monday evening when a 12-year-old boy was going through his trick-or-treat bag.
He got a bloody thumb, but there weren't any further injuries.
The boy had been trick-or-treating around Danforth Avenue in Spryfield, near J.L. Ilsley High School. He visited about 150 houses in the area.
Another call came in Tuesday morning that a 13-year-old girl in north-end Dartmouth also found a razor blade inside the wrapper of a chocolate bar. She was trick-or-treating around Albro Lake Road, Lancaster Drive and surrounding streets.
Police said similar calls can happen after the first instance has been reported.
"We are requesting people in the area to check their treats and contact police if they find anything suspicious," Staff Sgt. Barb Saunders said in an email.
'We believe them'
The 12-year-old boy's father posted photos of the blade on Twitter to warn others about it.
Saunders confirmed the photos were from the candy bar police are investigating. CBC News spoke to the father, who didn't want to comment publicly. Police now have the mini chocolate bar and will be sending it for forensic testing.
Const. Dianne Woodworth said instances like these are challenging to police.
Some online have been calling the instance a hoax, comments Woodworth said amount to "victim blaming."
"This person reached out for help," she said. "When our community members come forward with complaints, we believe them."
In past similar cases, police have reached out to candy companies and visited neighbours to see if they had heard of anything suspicious.
However, she acknowledged the slim chance of actual charges being laid in these types of incidents.
"To my knowledge I don't think there's been charges in the past based on that children are going to numerous, numerous houses in sort of a vast area, you don't know where the tampering took place."
With files from Sherri Borden Colley and the Canadian Press