The University of Ottawa was placed on lockdown Friday evening after a suspicious individual was found on site.
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This confinement lasted more than an hour, before ending around 7 p.m. The Ottawa Police Service reported “a suspicious person in the vicinity” of the University of Ottawa campus.
An investigation led to the arrest of the individual. No injuries were reported on site. “Public safety is no longer threatened,” indicates the Ottawa Police Service. The police are continuing their investigation to shed light on the events of the evening, about which no further details have been offered.
“We are aware of the concern that this incident has caused among students, faculty, staff and their loved ones,” shared the capital’s police department.
An emergency alert, sent to students around 6 p.m., was enough to arouse fear.
“If a violent person approaches, prepare to run, to hide, or, if your life is in immediate danger, to defend yourself by any means necessary until you can escape,” it was ordered.
Les étudiants sur le campus ont été « invités à se réfugier dans un immeuble », « barricader les portes », « s’éloigner des portes et fenêtres », and « ne pas faire de bruit ».
The University of Ottawa campus is located in the heart of downtown Ottawa and is minutes from Parliament Hill and the Rideau Centre, as well as major highways.
Other confinement, no correlation
At the same time, Friday evening, the downtown campus of McGill University was also on lockdown. This is a pure coincidence, assures the Police Service of the City of Montreal (SPVM).
Around 5:35 p.m., the SPVM received a call from a person indicating that they had heard gunshots on campus. When they arrived on the scene, the police orchestrated a preventive evacuation.
“The event was ultimately unfounded. These are students who knocked on a door of the building,” indicates the public relations agent Caroline Chèvrefils.
Photos are circulating on social media of heavily armed police officers moving around the downtown McGill campus.
