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OTTAWA — A part of downtown Ottawa was locked down Saturday after a person barricaded himself in Parliament Hill’s East Block, sparking a significant police intervention that lasted for hours.
5 hours after an unidentified man blockaded himself within the historic constructing, Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Inspector Mark Bouwmeester instructed reporters the standoff with police continued and the incident was thought-about “suspicious”.
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“We’re presently in touch with the person and our precedence is to resolve the scenario peacefully,” he stated. He refused to say if the suspect was armed or identified to police.
Simply earlier than 3 p.m. Saturday, OPS stated an unauthorized particular person received into the historic constructing and barricaded himself. “There are not any identified accidents,” the OPS stated.
The incident led to a big police response involving brokers from the Parliamentary Protecting Service (PPS), the OPS and the RCMP, who locked down the constructing and adjoining space.
Dozens of police automobiles surrounded the constructing and the stretch of Wellington St. in entrance of the Parliamentary precinct was closed to site visitors and pedestrians. Hill staff weren’t allowed to enter.
.@PPS_SPP and @ottawapolice officers are on scene at Parliament Hill for a barricaded man within the space of East block. There’s a massive police presence within the space. East block has been evacuated. There are not any identified accidents and police proceed to take care of a person on this… https://t.co/i8iXRNmV2J
– Ottawa Police (@ottawapolice) April 5, 2025
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The East Block homes the places of work of senators and their employees. As Parliament isn’t presently sitting, the constructing was possible principally unoccupied.
Shortly after the suspect burst into the workplace constructing, PPS issued a uncommon alert ordering senators and their employees to “search shelter within the nearest room. Shut and lock all doorways and conceal.”
Then the identical order was despatched to the Prime Minister’s Workplace and Privy Council Workplace within the constructing throughout the road, ordering any parliamentarians and employees there to do the identical.
Roughly fifteen minutes later, one other memo ordered East Block occupants to evacuate, suggesting police knew that the intruder didn’t pose a significant risk to constructing occupants.
Quite a few tactical models and bomb-sniffing canines had been seen outdoors the East Block constructing all through the afternoon.
Small trident seen faintly within the distance on prime of the blue Parliamentary Protecting Service automotive signifies the potential use of a bomb robotic. Photograph by Christopher Nardi, Nationwide Submit
Inside an hour of the alert, police deployed what seemed to be a bomb disposal robotic towards the constructing. Later, two extra such robots had been deployed nevertheless it was unclear in the event that they had been ever despatched into the East Block.
Almost 5 hours after the incident started, police had nonetheless not shared details about the intruder’s identification or obvious motive.
A tactical unit car arrives on Parliament Hill throughout a safety incident in East Block on Saturday, April 5, 2025. Photograph by Paula Tran /Postmedia
Senator Patrick Brazeau posted a be aware on X after the alert was issued: “Keep secure Ottawa.”
One police officer instructed the Nationwide Submit the incident was not thought-about an lively shooter scenario.
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