Man charged with bomb threat against US Consulate in Halifax after 2 Toronto consulate shootings

Audio By Carbonatix

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — Canadian police on Tuesday charged a man with making a bomb threat against the U.S. Consulate in Halifax, the latest security incident involving an American diplomatic post in Canada after two shootings at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto this year.

Several streets downtown were evacuated after Halifax Regional Police found a vehicle linked to the suspect, Ali Assakereh, parked near the consulate on Monday morning. The vehicle contained a propane tank and containers believed to hold flammable liquids, police said

Police said Assakereh, 54, was scheduled to appear in provincial court on charges of uttering threats and public mischief. They said they learned of the threat on Sunday night.

An explosives expert later determined the items in the vehicle posed no threat to public safety, and the evacuation was lifted Monday afternoon.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa said Monday that U.S. officials would not comment on a security matter while the police investigation was continuing.

The Halifax case follows two shootings this year at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, Canada’s largest city.

In March, two people fired multiple shots at the downtown Toronto consulate, damaging the building but causing no injuries. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police described that attack as a national security incident.

The consulate was targeted again July 27, when a shot was fired at the building. Toronto police later arrested a 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy and said investigators were examining links to a broader gun-for-hire network. No one was injured.

Authorities have not said there is any connection between the Halifax threat and the Toronto shootings.