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Ottawa police said a man was arrested after an hour-long lockdown on Parliament Hill.
“No incident occurred when a man who was impeded in the East neighborhood was called to the east block,” Ottawa police said in a social media post shortly before Saturday. The post also said a criminal investigation is underway and will be updated in the morning.
There is no direct charge.
Earlier, 7:30 ET. Mark Bouwmeester told reporters that “the situation in this incident is considered suspicious” but he has little details about what happened inside. Investigators said the man entered the East Block without authorization Saturday afternoon.
“We are currently in contact with individuals and our priority is to resolve the situation peacefully,” he said. “There is no known harm yet and we think this person is the only person inside the building.”
Police will not say whether the man was considered armed or that he posed a threat.
Ottawa Police brought special forces, including at least one dog and explosives unit. Two bomb disposal unit robots were seen in front of the central block.
Police initially issued a warning Saturday afternoon telling anyone in the East neighborhood that there is a council office, seeking asylum in the nearest room, closing and locking all doors and hiding.
People then evacuated from the buildings as police temporarily closed a large pile of Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill, thus blocking traffic and pedestrians.
Hours after the lockdown began, police officers extended the exclusion zone from a block of Wellington Street to Sparks Street.
The government page said the eastern neighborhood has offices for senators and their staff, but there was little activity on the hill as the parliament evacuated the ongoing federal election.
The same page says the building once served as the offices of Sir John Macdonald and Sir George Etienne Cartier, “it still contains “faithful entertainment for the offices of famous residents since the 19th century.”
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