East Block locked down by Parliamentary Protective Service
Article content
OTTAWA — Part of downtown Ottawa was locked down Saturday after a man barricaded himself in Parliament Hill’s East Block, sparking a major police intervention that lasted for hours.
Five hours after an unidentified man blockaded himself in the historic building, Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Inspector Mark Bouwmeester told reporters the standoff with police continued and the incident was considered “suspicious”.
Article content
“We’re currently in contact with the individual and our priority is to resolve the situation peacefully,” he said. He refused to say if the suspect was armed or known to police.
Just before 3 p.m. Saturday, OPS said an unauthorized individual got into the historic building and barricaded himself. “There are no known injuries,” the OPS said.
The incident led to a significant police response involving agents from the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS), the OPS and the RCMP, who locked down the building and adjoining area.
Dozens of police cars surrounded the building and the stretch of Wellington St. in front of the Parliamentary precinct was closed to traffic and pedestrians. Hill employees were not allowed to enter.
Article content
The East Block houses the offices of senators and their staff. As Parliament is not currently sitting, the building was likely mostly unoccupied.
Shortly after the suspect burst into the office building, PPS issued a rare alert ordering senators and their staff to “seek shelter in the nearest room. Close and lock all doors and hide.”
Then the same order was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office and Privy Council Office in the building across the street, ordering any parliamentarians and staff there to do the same.
Roughly fifteen minutes later, another memo ordered East Block occupants to evacuate, suggesting police knew that the intruder did not pose a major threat to building occupants.
Numerous tactical units and bomb-sniffing dogs were seen outside the East Block building throughout the afternoon.
Within an hour of the alert, police deployed what appeared to be a bomb disposal robot toward the building. Later, two more such robots were deployed but it was unclear if they were ever sent into the East Block.
Nearly five hours after the incident began, police had still not shared information about the intruder’s identity or apparent motive.
Senator Patrick Brazeau posted a note on X after the alert was issued: “Stay safe Ottawa.”
One police officer told the National Post the incident was not considered an active shooter situation.
Article content
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Share this article in your social network
