Man charged after lockdown
· CastanetUPDATE: 8:50 a.m.
Police say they've charged a 31-year-old Ottawa man with several offences following an incident that placed an area of Parliament Hill under lockdown on Saturday.
Ottawa police said in a media statement Sunday that a man entered East Block in downtown Ottawa at 2:40 p.m. Saturday and started issuing threats to those inside.
Security officials isolated the man in a security screening area while police evacuated the building, which mostly houses offices for senators and their staff.
Police said the man surrendered peacefully after hours of negotiations.
Ottawa police did not identify the suspect in the release Sunday morning. Police said he was scheduled to appear in court later in the day.
The suspect was charged with two counts of breach of probation and one count each of public mischief and uttering threats to cause property damage.
Before the evacuation, police released a warning Saturday afternoon telling everyone in East Block to seek shelter in the nearest room, close and lock all doors, and hide.
Officials also shut down traffic along a stretch of Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill and eventually extended the exclusion zone one block south to Sparks Street.
The incident provoked a robust response from Ottawa police and the Parliamentary Protective Service, with canine and bomb disposal units called to the area.
No one was injured in the incident and no weapons, explosives or other hazardous materials were discovered.
Police said several packages were discovered in the area and were searched and cleared.
Ottawa Police Service Insp. Mark Bouwmeester told reporters Saturday evening that the circumstances of this incident were "suspicious" but provided little additional detail at the time.
Parliament Hill is mostly quiet this month due to the federal election.
ORIGINAL: 7:45 a.m.
Questions remain for Ottawa police this morning after a late-night arrest of a man who barricaded himself in Parliament Hill's East Block on Saturday.
Ottawa police say they arrested the man without incident late Saturday night after an hours-long lockdown that began after the man "gained unauthorized access" to East Block in the afternoon and barricaded himself inside the building.
They initially released a warning for anyone in East Block, which houses parliamentary offices, to seek shelter in the nearest room, close and lock all doors and hide.
People were evacuated from the building and police shut down a significant stretch of Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill, blocking traffic and pedestrians.
Before the arrest, Ottawa police Insp. Mark Bouwmeester told reporters the circumstances of the incident were considered suspicious, but offered no details on whether the man was armed or had made any threats.
A government official page says East Block houses the offices of Senators and their staff, but Parliament Hill is mostly quiet this month due to the upcoming federal election.