(Trinidad Guardian) Hours after the pastor of the Bethel ‘The House of God’ in Freeport made the decision to suspend services indefinitely and not proceed with the planned weddings at the church’s compound today, they received a bomb threat.According to information reaching the Guardian Media, sometime after 3 pm yesterday police officers received information that someone had threatened “to blow the church up.”
A party of police officers led by Supt Wayne Mystar responded to the scene at Calcutta #2 in Freeport at about 4 pm along with the T&T Fire Service and an ambulance.
Mystar and the fire officials met and spoke with church officials who were already on the compound and informed them about what was happening. A few minutes later, a sniffer dog was taken onto the compound to detect if any explosives had been planted in the church building.
Mystar confirmed with the Guardian Media that they were responding to “just…a threat of a bomb.”
When Guardian Media got there at 3.45 pm, however, church officials claimed they had no information on any bomb threat and questioned why the media was there.
Asked if they had any official event or gathering taking place at the nearby camp ground, which is located opposite to the church compound, where several people were seen sitting under a shed, a church official said no. He further explained that the people there at the time were making arrangements to cook food to mark the end of their annual week-long activities and memorial services.
On Thursday night, Pastor Dalton Bruce refused to speak to members of the media and police officers who showed up during their annual memorial services event, after residents raised concerns over the scores of people gathered at the church for the event in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. The police allowed the event to continue despite the advice by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that all social gatherings feature no more than 10 people.
In an official statement sent by Bruce on Friday, he said initially that services were not closing off. During a service on Friday night, however, he announced that all services would be suspended until further notice but that four pre-planned weddings carded for today would go on. But yesterday a church official said thee weddings were also not taking place at the church’s compound again. He did not say whether they had been relocated or postponed until further notice.
