Anyone setting off the metal detectors in a Nova Scotia courthouse will be denied entry unless they can explain why the alarm is going off, the province’s justice minister announced Thursday.
Ross Landry made the comments after a 16-year-old Upper Tantallon girl allegedly hid a knife inside her vagina and then used it to attack a 22-year-old woman inside the Halifax provincial courthouse Tuesday.
The metal detector did respond when the girl passed through security, but the teenager reportedly told the sheriff on duty that she had a genital piercing that was setting it off.
“As of today, all individuals going through and setting off the metal detectors, if there’s not a reasonable explanation as to why the detector was set off, will be denied access to a facility,” said Landry.
Landry added that in most cases, a person could prove they had a piercing simply by showing it to the sheriff on duty. “If that’s not appropriate, then they may be denied access,” he said. “I think the critical point here is to ensure the integrity of the system and the safety of the environment.”
The teenage girl faces several charges in connection with Tuesday’s incident, including attempted murder, assault with a weapon, and two counts of uttering threats.
