UPDATE:
Shoppers and staff at Value Village were able to return to the store approximately 45 minutes after the initial evacuation this morning.
“When we got there it was revealed that someone had discharged some sort of bear spray or pepper spray inside the store,” Deputy Fire Chief Dan Atkinson told Victoria Buzz.
Four members of Victoria Fire Department attended the scene and were able to evacuate the premises, silence the alarm, perform ventilation, and have the business back up and running in less than an hour.
Earlier: Victoria’s largest second hand store was evacuated earlier today due to an unknown contaminant.
Just after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 11th, shoppers inside Value Village at 1810 Store Street were asked to clear out from the premises.
Victoria Police and fire department are onsite, and VicPD media spokesperson Cst. Matt Rutherford has confirmed to Victoria Buzz that an investigation into the incident is currently ongoing.
The nature of the contaminant and general reason for evacuation has not been revealed.
