Thunder Bay

Hells Angels club house raid takes Thunder Bay neighbour by surprise

Thunder Bay Police raided a building they're calling a Hells Angels club house on Simpson Street Wednesday morning.
Thunder Bay police say they were executing a search warrant at this Simpson Street building as part of an ongoing investigation. (Heather Kitching/CBC)

Thunder Bay Police raided a building they're calling a Hells Angels club house on Simpson Street Wednesday morning.

Officers in full SWAT team gear appeared to remove items from the building located at 636 1/2 Simpson St. and loaded them into a police van.

Officers in full SWAT team gear appeared to remove items from the building near the Underground Gym on Simpson Street in Thunder Bay. (Heather Kitching/CBC)
Jake MacLaurin said he was outside having a cigarette when the commotion started.

“I heard a couple of loud bangs go off, and there's guys coming down, running around with guns, and I couldn't figure out what was going on at first,” he said.

“I looked out and I seen the whole SWAT team hanging around the front door.  You know they were taking down the building. They were busting their way in.”

Police said they were executing a search warrant as part of an ongoing investigation. 

No one was in the building at the time of entry.

The officers who executed the warrant were from the Thunder Bay Police Service Intelligence Unit and the Emergency Task Unit. 

MacLaurin said officers were “dressed in full SWAT gear carrying around the pry bars, running around with guns, and they were all hanging out right in front of the shop down there, busting their way through the doors, breaking glass.  [There was] a lot of commotion, but no gunfire, nothing like that." 

"Once they got in they just went in, stayed in,” he continued.

“A couple minutes later a few of them [walked] out the back and everybody seemed to be walking by, all calm. I don't think any open gun fire happened or anything like that but there were a few loud bangs."