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After a photo showing a syringe with a needle taped to a handrail caused a stir online, the City of Victoria says it has increased security.

On Sunday, Victoria’s Sam Hollington posted the photo to his Facebook page saying, it was shown to him by a security guard at Bastion Square Parkade.

“He found it while on patrol underneath the stairs’ handrail,” Hollington wrote. “Not sure if it was infected with anything or not but just beware that this is happening in our city.”

The City of Victoria said the needle was originally found by the parkade’s security guard on the evening of April 17 and a police report was filed the following day.

In response to the discovery, the city said it has elevated its hourly security sweeps that it regularly conducts 24/7 in its five parkades.

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“A needle taped to a handrail in a city parkade is highly uncommon,” the city said in a release. “The City of Victoria is committed to public safety and takes such an incident very seriously.” Tweet This

Victoria Police say they are only aware of this one incident, but encourage anyone with information to call them at 250-995-7654 or Crime Stoppers at 1 800-222-8477.