The bomb squad has reopened a downtown street after they determined a suspicious vehicle parked outside Toronto city hall posed no danger, police have confirmed.
Police began investigating the car after authorities received a threatening message from an anonymous caller.
The car was found in close proximity to Nathan Phillips Square and the University Avenue courthourse shortly after police received a bomb threat at 9:30 a.m.
The anonymous caller warned police a bomb would go off within the hour in the Bay and Queen Streets area, said Acting Staff Sgt. Frank Pantaleo, with Toronto police 52 Division, speaking to CTV.ca.
Investigators traced the call to a payphone near Osgoode Hall.
After receiving information from another police division in the area, investigators linked the call with a reported stolen vehicle.
The car, described by Pantaleo as an older-style Cadillac,was located on Chestnut Street, near Armoury Street at around 10 a.m. The car had the back window smashed out. When police found the car, they cordoned off the area to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. However, the surrounding buildings were not evacuated.
Although there were reports a brown package was found inside the car, Pantaleo said there was nothing in the car that posed a danger.
A police robot was used to search the car for explosives. A detonator was used to blast the trunk open but no explosives were found, Pantaleo said.
Pantaleo said the car was stolen from one location while the licence plates were stolen from another vehicle. He said they're investigating the link between the suspected caller and the stolen property.
The car has been towed and police are reviewing security video tapes in the area to see if they can catch a glimpse of the man who called in the bomb threat.
With a report from CTV's Naomi Parness
