The discovery of a six-inch pipe bomb disrupted commuter traffic around the busy Metrotown mall in Burnaby, B.C., Thursday night.

Police block the entrance to the parking garage at Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby, B.C., after a pipe bomb was found in the mall.
(CBC)

RCMP Cpl. Jane Baptista said the bomb was discovered outside a store in the mall at around 5 p.m.

She said someone walking by pulled the device out of a planter and took it to mall security.

"Potentially, it could blow your fingers off,'' Baptista said.

The discovery prompted the closure of the nearby SkyTrain station, as well as part of the underground parking garage at the mall.

Mall security officials responded by notifying the RCMP. The RCMP called in a bomb squad to safely detonate the device.

According to Baptista, the bomb squad decided the mall could remain open for its regular hours, as the bomb was in a secure place and unlikely to harm anyone.

An RCMP bomb squad robot destroyed the six-inch pipe bomb found at the mall.
(CBC)

After the mall closed, a bomb-squad robot removed the bomb and it was safely detonated at 10:45 pm. Traffic and public transit in the area were shut down for about 30 minutes while the bomb was destroyed. The shopping centre is expected to be open for business as usual on Friday.

Burnaby RCMP are looking at mall security videos, but they have not identified any suspects.