Toronto University reopens after police okays security
New York : An hours-long lockdown at the University of Toronto’s downtown St. George campus was lifted Monday afternoon after police were unable to locate a suspicious person wearing a mask and possibly armed with a gun.
Following the all-clear from police, University of Toronto president Meric Gertler thanked students, faculty and staff for responding “calmly and quickly” to the incident, and to Toronto and campus police for their fast action.
The first of two calls to police, at 9:15 a.m., reported a “suspicious person” in the building with his face covered. A second call came about 20 minutes later, reporting a person with a gun at Trinity College, said Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook.
A photo given to police of the “suspicious person” shows a male dressed entirely in black, with a smartphone, a black knapsack and surgical mask, police Chief Mark Saunders told media at the scene late in the morning.
The photo “did not indicate or show a firearm,” Saunders said, adding that police have not been able to make contact with the caller who reported that detail.
During the lockdown, students and staff were ordered to remain inside the buildings, and some were escorted out by the ETF as they searched the campus.
Nearby Sick Kids and Women’s College hospitals went into precautionary lockdowns as well, as several Toronto police units, including the Emergency Task Force and K-9 Unit, investigated. The nearby Ontario legislature building entered a partial lockdown as a precautionary measure.
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