Arrest at Parliament Hill

UPDATE: 8:25 p.m.

Ottawa police say one man has been arrested after an hours-long lockdown on Parliament Hill.

Investigators say the man gained unauthorized access to East Block on Saturday afternoon and barricaded himself inside the building.

ORIGINAL: 2:20 p.m.

There is a lockdown in place on Parliament Hill as Ottawa police say they are dealing with a barricaded man.

The service issued a warning on Saturday afternoon for anyone in East Block, which houses parliamentary offices, to seek shelter in the nearest room, close and lock all doors and hide.

Anyone who is not in the immediate area is being warned to stay away until further notice.

A social media post from Ottawa Police says a "barricaded man is in the area of East Block" and urges people to avoid the area, noting there are no reports of injuries.

There's a heavy police presence in the area and a significant stretch of Wellington Street, which runs in front of Parliament Hill, has been cordoned off.

Police have brought in a robot to deal with the situation, and a large police truck was ushered through the security roadblock.

A government web page says East Block houses the offices of senators and their staff, but Parliament Hill is mostly quiet this month due to the federal election, which means Parliament is dissolved.

The government web page says the building once held the officers of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier," and that it still contains "faithful recreations of the offices of its famous occupants from the 19th century."