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Library evacuated after suspect package found
At exactly 4:42pm, Tuesday 27th May an email was send around by the university notifying students of ‘police investigating a potential incident in the Templeman Library.’
At approximately 3pm, the library was evacuated due to what the police on the scene have described as a ‘suspect package.’
A member of university library staff has told inQuire ‘the package, described as suitcase, was deemed suspicious, was seen left in a locker on the ground floor of the library’. The library staff then took the action of contacting the local army and police, who were contacted at 2:32pm, about the package.
The library was quickly evacuated by the police, along with the Gulbenkian cafe, as a 400 metre cordon was placed around it. Ambulances and fire fighters were also quick onto the scene, although no action was taken by them and they were as quick to leave. The package has been said to have had the owner’s name on it, and the person in question has been contacted about the issue. However the package was not deemed as dangerous by the bomb disposal experts. Who were quick to guarantee library staff of the area’s safety.
At 4:51pm, an army disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion of the package. The remains of the suitcase were taken out from the rear of the library, surrounded by police; and was seen leaving the premises in a blue Peugeot.
The library was reopened at 6pm, as well as the surrounding area that was cordoned off. Kent Police have stated that no arrests or further investigations are expected to be made as the incident has been considered not a serious issue.
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Gloda said: “I don’t understand what made this suitcase suspicious. Surely quite a few suitcases and backpacks are put into the library lockers every day – isn’t that what they are for? Or am I missing something?”
I know someone who works in the library and who saw the suitcase just before his boss called it in as a suspicious package. It was on top of the lockers, in plain sight, rather than being inside a locker. It was a medium suitcase at the upper limits of hand-luggage size and could have contained plenty of explosives. It had flight tags with the owner’s name on them. There may have been a radio aerial sticking out of the top, but I have not been able to confirm this.
By Heliodorus_of_Emesa on 6.6.2023
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It was a bomb disposal unit, regardless of it being army or not, as you can just about see in this picture, hiding behind the blue sign:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2097/2527719609_0cb821a5c6_b.jpg
By Anonymous on 29.5.2023
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A 400 meter cordon, what a joke, it definately wasn’t 400 meter. A what a poor attempt at blocking the road. And why put an assembly point in direct line of sight of access to the building. I was walking 50 meters from the building within 45 mins of the cordon being put in place. I hope the police deal with this a little better if it happens in the future…
From Me
By Me on 28.5.2023
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A package/suitcase was destroyed on top of the lockers. The force of the small blast is evident in the destroyed ceiling tiles and fabric from the suitcase stuck on the wall. The is some damage to the wall too. All right next to my locker!
The suitcase (if that what it was) was placed on top of the lockers and not inside a locker, otherwise it would of never been spotted.
Normally the Bomb Disposal people would x-ray the suspect package first to identify whether the contents inside did pose a genuine threat and/or the size of the charge and construction of the initiation device. I know from my Army days of having bomb alerts that the level of response seen on Tuesday was appropriate.
By Shaun Nichols on 28.5.2023
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Excellent write up Zain. It is really clear and puts across the facts without rumours.
Good job!
By Sam Wylie on 28.5.2023
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Would like to hear from the poor sod who got his bag blown up!
By Jana on 28.5.2023
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I don’t understand what made this suitcase suspicious. Surely quite a few suitcases and backpacks are put into the library lockers every day – isn’t that what they are for? Or am I missing something?
By Gloda on 28.5.2023
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I spoke to one of my very well informed friends and the ‘controlled explosion’ was actually the suspected package being injected at multiple points with saline to make it safe. This is an accepted technique with suspect packages that are not a great threat. My experience of those dealing with the incident was that they were courteous and approachable with questions whilst trying to ensure if the worst happened that we were as safe as possible. A great job all round. Although I feel more information should have been passed from the University itself to stop the rumour mills running on overload.
By Anonymous on 27.5.2023
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From my first hand viewing of the package, I would suggest to you that the Police are not giving you the full story there, as it were, the suitcase was fully intact, I don’t know what damage blowing up the suitcase would have done, but I suggest more than the suitcase I saw leave campus had received.
By chairman on 27.5.2023
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Good to see InQuire ‘reporting from the scene’ and developing on what the university has circulated through Kentmail. I heard that InQuire reporters were seen running up to campus as the story broke
🙂
By Shaun Nichols on 27.5.2023
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Nope, I spoke to the duty superintendant at Kent Police she confirmed there was defintely a controlled explosion and that the bags taken away were remains.
By website-editor on 27.5.2023
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Also, it was not an army bomb disposal unit, I saw it go past, it was police.
Also, there was a police blockade of university road, I was kept there for an hour.
By Anonymous on 27.5.2023
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Just to say that there probably was no ‘controlled explosion of the package’ as when I saw the officers removing the suitcase from the library, it was still fully intact.
There was also another boy having the contents of his bag searched, and a woman asking him, ‘are you happy that everything is still in there’ when I returned to the library.
By chairman on 27.5.2023
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