In each “Behind the Scenes” segment, Village Media's Scott Sexsmith sits down with one of our local journalists to talk about the story behind the story.
These interviews are designed to help you better understand how our community-based reporters gather the information that lands in your local news feed. You can find more Behind the Scenes from reporter across Ontario here.
Today's spotlight is on BarrieToday's Kevin Lamb, whose story 'Robot explodes possible fragment at Barrie bomb scene' was published on September 27, 2023.
Here's the original story if you need to catch up:
Police used a remote-controlled robot to detonate what is believed to be a fragment of an improvised explosive found early Wednesday morning on Anne Street in Barrie.
City police officials have confirmed there was an explosive placed in the gas-cap area of a vehicle in the Anne Street apartment building's parking lot. The explosive device blew up shortly before 3 a.m., on Sept. 27.
After receiving calls from area residents about an explosion in the wee hours of the morning, officers cordoned the area around the foot of the Anne Street hill near the bridge over Highway 400.
Officers later found what they believe was a piece of the original explosive in a nearby garden area.
At around 8:45 a.m., a shielded robot was used to purposely detonate what appeared to be a cylindrical device in the apartment parking lot at 108 Anne St. N., creating a loud explosion. Dust came off the device and the robot was jostled from the explosion.
Around 10 a.m., an officer with the explosive disposal unit could also be seen inspecting vehicles in the parking lot near Edgehill Drive.
One of the vehicles in the parking lot, a white SUV, had a large amount of damage around its gas cap on the driver's side as well as a flattened rear tire.
About 30 minutes later, what appeared to be a bomb-sniffing police dog was let loose in the parking lot and checked several vehicles.
No injuries have been reported.
The investigation is ongoing.
