Fake bomb outside Pieta’ council

A package containing a timer and shotgun pellets was discovered yesterday outside the Pieta’ local council.

The alarm was raised at about 11 a.m. The council offices and residents nearby were evacuated and the road closed as officers from the army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit arrived on site.

The package was found to contain a timer, shotgun pellets and other materials, but not explosive.

Sources said shotgun pellets had been found outside the offices of the council some three weeks ago, leading the police to suspect the two incidents were meant as a threat against the council.

The scare comes after a bomb rattled the Transport Malta offices in Sa Maison, Pieta’ and shocked the island on December 2. The man who was believed to be the target of the attack, 32-year-old Konrad Pulé, escaped unhurt but his colleague, traffic expert Major Peter Ripard, 74, lost a leg and is still recovering.