Toronto on partial lockdown as police search for armed person

Multiples buildings and streets in downtown Toronto were shut down Monday morning as police were searching for a "suspicious person" reportedly wearing a mask and possibly armed in the vicinity of Ontario provincial government buildings and the campus of University of Toronto.

The lockdown extended to the area around Queen's Park and hospitals on University Avenue as security was tightened due to ongoing situation after separate reports of a person dressed in black, wearing a mask and carrying a black backpack.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters at the scene that the mask the person was wearing appeared to be a surgical mask and when asked about the backpack he said that "they haven't found anything right now."

A witness took the picture that officers are using as a reference, it did not come from security footage, although they are hoping that surveillance video "can enhance it further."

Although police did not see a firearm in the photo, they said one caller indicated they spotted a man wearing all black and carrying a firearm.

Police said that security at the university made the first report after seeing someone wearing a mask in a building under construction at 6 Hoskin Ave.

Saunders said the investigation is in its early stages and police are reviewing security camera footage.

Saunders also confirmed that a male who was placed in police custody near campus earlier in the morning was unrelated to the campus investigation.

In a statement, the University of Toronto asked that no one enter several buildings on Queen's Park Crescent and surrounding streets, and that those already inside those buildings remain in place "until an all-clear is called."

Nearby Women's College Hospital was also placed in lockdown, and Hospital for Sick Children also restricted entry and exit to their buildings "out of caution."

Queen's Park is in a partial lockdown with guards at all doors but staff and visitors allowed to come and go with proper identification.

There have been no reports of injuries.

source : xinhua