Halifax police are investigating a large stash of chemicals found at an address linked to Christopher B. Phillips, the suspect arrested Wednesday at a hotel in Ottawa.
Police said the Chimo Hotel was evacuated Tuesday evening after a threat was made by a “suspicious male” who checked into the hotel.
Christopher Phillips, of Cole Harbour, N.S., was arrested without incident Wednesday morning at the hotel, CTV News' Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported.
Ottawa Police announced at 3 p.m. local time they had finished their search of the hotel, finding no hazardous materials.
Police said they had no further concerns for public safety, and local road closures were being lifted.
Ottawa Police spokesman Const. Chuck Benoit said the investigation began at about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday and that a perimeter was established around the hotel.
The evacuation order was issued for the hotel early Wednesday morning after police received a potentially serious threat, fearing that hazardous chemicals were inside.
Officers blocked off a large perimeter surrounding the hotel, and tactical teams, including the HAZMAT team, were called to the scene. Earlier sources said that a hazardous chemical had been found at the hotel, but it was later clarified that chemicals have not yet been found.
"The man is being held on a Canada-wide warrant issued relating to charges in Nova Scotia," Ottawa police said in a release.
Phillips, 42, is a former U.S. Army biochemist who has been living in Nova Scotia for the last several years. He was also previously married to U.S. Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller. They divorced in 2006, according to an Oklahoma newspaper.
Phillips, an American citizen, has a long and messy history in the United States.
In March 2008, he was an ophthalmologist who closed an eye care clinic he owned in the Seattle area, leaving thousands of patients in the dark.
Phillips has also appeared in court for parties at his Washington home, which involved allegations of supplying liquor to minors.
In September 2009 he filed for bankruptcy.
According to a RCMP memo to police, Phillips has a history of mental illness.
He’s currently married to Gosia Phillips, a neurologist specializing in sleep medicine and an assistant professor of medicine at Dalhousie University.
She is also the property owner of the Lakeridge Crescent residence in Cole Harbour that police searched on Tuesday.
Neighbours say Christopher Phillips was quiet, and was in the process of renovating the home.
It was Phillips' current wife who alerted police that her husband was headed to the Ottawa area, after he notified her of his plans to travel to the capital. Phillips was travelling without a cellphone or clothing, Fife said.
A Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest and investigators from Nova Scotia are en route to Ottawa to interview the suspect.
Ottawa police said they do not have reason believe terrorism was motive behind the incident.
When police searched Phillips’ home in Cole Harbour, N.S. they found a chemical substance known as osmium tetroxide (OsO4) in glass bottles, Fife said. The substance can be deadly if even trace amounts are inhaled.
Chemical weapons expert Howard Hu says the chemical is a "niche" substance that is not easy to buy or generate in a laboratory. He added that it would be difficult to turn osmium tetroxide into a chemical weapon or "dirty bomb," but it could still do a lot of harm to anyone exposed to it.
"It's a very volatile chemical and one that's extremely poisonous, both through inhalation or ingestion," Hu told CTV News Channel on Wednesday.
Chemists typically use the expensive and volatile chemical to stain slides for viewing under a microscope.
Ottawa incident linked to investigation in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia RCMP confirm the incident in Ottawa is connected to the discovery of a suspicious package and subsequent evacuations in the Halifax area on Tuesday.
Police responded to a home on Lakeridge Crescent in Cole Harbour, N.S. Monday evening after receiving a report that a suspicious package had been found outside the home.
“It was a call from a concerned citizen, that they found a package that they believed to be suspicious,” said Halifax District RCMP spokesman Cpl. Greg Church.
Church said the package was located around 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Police contained the scene until the RCMP explosives disposal unit and Halifax Regional Fire’s hazmat crew arrived Tuesday morning.
Residents within 100 metres of the scene were evacuated from their homes Tuesday morning as a precaution.
Crews determined the package contained hazardous chemicals and removed it without incident.
The evacuation order was lifted around 5 p.m. Tuesday, allowing residents on Parkedge Crescent, Lakeridge Crescent and Rockhaven Court to go home.
Police also searched two other locations in connection with the original call Tuesday, including a home around the corner on Parkedge Crescent, and a property in Grand Desert, N.S.
Investigators continue to watch all three scenes connected to the case, with their main focus being a rural property on Old Dyke Road in Grand Desert, N.S.
Nova Scotia RCMP said local residents can expect to see a heavy police presence in the area, as officers and specialists continue to work on the property Wednesday evening.
Five nearby homes were evacuated on Tuesday after officers found a large quantity ofhazardous and volatile chemicals at a cottage there.
RCMP said the evacuation order will remain in effect until at least 2 p.m. on Thursday.
The RCMP explosives disposal unit, Halifax Regional Police forensics identification section, a HAZMAT team and Emergency Health Services have been called in to investigate.
Police have not identified all the chemicals present.
With files from CTVNews.ca, CTV Atlantic's Marie Adsett and The Canadian Press
