Suspicious package shuts down UPS Store in downtown Saskatoon

Emergency crews in Saskatoon had a case of déja vu Thursday afternoon after responding to a suspicious substance scare downtown.

An employee at the UPS Store on the corner of 21st Street and 4th Avenue discovered an unsealed box that had a dark, dirt-like substance inside.

A pair of surgical gloves and envelopes were also in the package according to the employee, who requested not to be named.

“I wasn’t sure what was inside, so that’s why I called,” he said, adding there was no name on the package.

The employee was checked by paramedics and washed his hands, but was okay.

Hazmat, fire, police and EMS responded to the call and quarantined the store while they investigated.

The store is located in MNP Place, but other tenants were told by crews not to worry.

Déja vu

The location of the scare was less than a block away from the epicentre of a white powder scare in November.

A restaurant on 21st Street was quarantined after an envelope was delivered with a white powder inside that turned out to be baking soda. Four other locations received similar packages.

Alexa Emerson, also known as Amanda Totchek, was charged in connection with the November incident.

She was released on bail Jan. 20 with strict conditions to not be in Saskatoon, except for court and to live in Alberta.