A man identified as Christopher Phillips has been quietly arrested after a scare at an Ottawa Hotel about a guest with “chemicals.” Police said this afternoon there were no chemicals found at the hotel. Mr. Philips, 42, was reported to police by his wife when he left his Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia home and headed to the capital. She apparently told police he had suffered mental illness and issued threats in the pasts. Phillips is a U.S. citizen with training in chemistry who served in the military and may be suffering from the psychological effects of serving abroad. During the day, RCMP in the Halifax area searched a siterat a place called Desert Grand where they found a secured a cache of hazardous and volatile chemicals. It was also reported that a pipe bomb of some type was found. Phillips was briefly married to former U.S. Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller, but the couple divorced in 2006. In a statement, Miller said that “upon hearing the recent news surrounding Christopher Phillips,” her prayers go to the “safety of those around him.” “I’m thankful that the brave men and women of the Ottawa police department and other law enforcement agencies were able to apprehend him and diffuse the situation without incident,” Miller said.
