Downtown Edmonton street closed for two hours as police handle suspicious package

Edmonton police close a portion of 96 Street downtown on Aug. 3, 2023, to handle a suspicious package. It turned out to be empty. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)

Edmonton police closed a downtown street for two hours Thursday night while they handled a suspicious package near a fire hall.

The package was located near the entrance of Fire Station No. 1 at 103A Avenue and 96 Street, close to the EPS downtown headquarters.

A firefighter at the fire station reported the package at 6:34 p.m. Police closed a section of 96 Street as a result.

A police disposal unit subsequently dealt with the package, confirmed it was empty and deemed it no risk.

Police opened the street to traffic two hours later.