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'70 or 80 people running': Eyewitness gives account of police incident at Metrotown (PHOTOS & VIDEO)

There are unconfirmed reports of shots being fired and also "reports of a pipe bomb."
Elana Shepert
Elana Shepert

The Burnaby RCMP is asking the public to avoid the Metrotown area after an afternoon of bedlam Metropolis at Metrotown mall and the SkyTrain station next door.

At 6:30 p.m., Burnaby RCMP said the mall would stay closed for the evening after the Emergency Response Team was called in after reports of either a pipe bomb or shots fired.

"The threat that caused the evacuation today is believed to be unfounded," Burnaby RCMP tweeted.

Around 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, the Burnaby RCMP advised people to avoid "Metrotown Station and the surrounding area, including the mall, due to a police incident." 

The detachment added that officers were on scene assisting Metro Vancouver Transit Police.

TransLink stated that Metrotown Station is closed due to the incident and that commuters should expect delays. Trains are being turned around to westbound at Patterson and to eastbound at Royal Oak Stations.

Around 3:30 p.m., Burnaby RCMP stated that officers were evacuating the mall and conducting a grid search. The detachment noted that there are "unconfirmed reports of shots being fired" as well as "unconfirmed reports of a pipe bomb." It is unclear if these two reports are related.

At 3:45 p.m., the Burnaby RCMP said on social media that there is "no evidence of an active threat or any injuries." 

An investigation continues.

Burnaby RCMP tells Vancouver Is Awesome that officers are currently responding to "unconfirmed reports of shots fired at Metropolis at Metrotown" but no evidence of an active threat has been found.

"The mall has been evacuated and officers remain on scene doing a search and ensuring the area is safe. We thank the public for their cooperation and are continuing to ask people to avoid the area," states the detachment. 

Transit Police also have a file in the area that forced the closure of Metrotown Station. That area has since been cleared and deemed safe, however, the station remains closed due to the closure at the mall.

"At this time, it is unclear if the two files are linked."

'Some of the young girls were crying and some people left their luggage'

Mohammed Arbaz was working in Metrotown Mall when he says he heard what sounded like "shooting sounds" just before 3 p.m. He tells V.I.A. that he works near the food court but was just coming inside after a break when he heard the sounds. 

"I was outside for a break and I came inside the mall and I walking through the open space," he explains. "I don't know if they were shooting sounds because other people were making noise.

"It was like 70 or 80 people running at a time." 

He adds that "some of the young girls were crying and some people left their luggage" as they started to run.

"Employees left their stores and ran and they started pulling people outside."

While he is still waiting outside, Arbaz notes security is monitoring the situation and he isn't aware of any injuries. 

Burnaby RCMP has not confirmed that any shots were fired.