Update: 2:06
Scottsdale Drive is now open to traffic.
Const. Mike Gatto said "there probably was no ill intent to it, it was just a concern the library people had."
The bag appears to have contained only personal items. The original call came in from the library around 10 a.m.
The library and adjacent Scottsdale Dental were evacuated temporarily, other businesses were on a hold and secure, he said.
The robotic device used belongs to Guelph Police. The Waterloo Regional Police bomb squad did an x-ray of the backpack and opened it up to inspect it.
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Update: 1:55 p.m.
All clear. Guelph Police const. Mike Gatto reports 'nothing suspicious' after police inspect contents of backpack.
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Update: 1:52 p.m.
Police are now inspecting the contents of the package by hand.
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Update: 1:42 p.m.
Police are now manually inspecting the suspicious backpack up close and they are not wearing protective gear.
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Update: 1:24 p.m.
Waterloo Regional Police bomb squad is now on scene and is preparing to investigate the backpack using a robotic device.
The black backpack is situated on the grass beside the plaza parking lot.
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Updated: 1:15 p.m.
Guelph Police are presently investigating a suspicious package ( a large backpack) that was left outside the Guelph Public Library's Scottsdale branch just south of the Scottsdale Drive/Stone Road intersection.
Please are asking people to avoid the area if possible. Scottsdale is closed off. Stone Road remains open.
"The library received a call this morning and that call, the person expressed the fact that they had left a bag outside of the library," said Guelph Police Const. Mike Gatto on scene around 1 p.m.
The employees at the library became concerned and called us. We've since come and found the bag. It's unknown at this point whether the bag is just a bag or whether there's more to it. In the interest of public safety we're going to take it potentially as something more than unsafe," Gatto said.
Gatto said the Waterloo Regional Police bomb squad was on its way to check the bag just to make sure it's safe."
More information will be shared as it becomes available.
