April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nOttawa police Insp. Brian Samuel told CTV News Ottawa that officers were informed of a suspicious person near the Rideau Centre at approximately 4:20 p.m. Police used CCTV footage to track the individual to the University of Ottawa campus and then uOttawa Station.<\/p>\n
The man was arrested off campus on Waller Street shortly before 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
Samuel says he is currently unable to comment on why the individual was considered suspicious as the investigation is ongoing. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been arrested. He will be brought to the station and processed, and it will be up to investigators to decide what charges to lay,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
It was the university\u2019s decision to initiate the lockdown, Samuel says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was their decision to go into a lockdown mode. It caused a bit of panic amongst the students and some parents, and the incident seemed to take on a course of its own on social media,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe located the individual very quickly and he has been arrested, and that\u2019s the end of the incident.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a statement from Jesse Robichaud, director of public affairs with the University of Ottawa, the university\u2019s protection services communicated with police throughout the lockdown. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe safety of students, staff and our university community is our top priority, and safety protocols are instituted responsibly with the maximum care and caution,\u201d Robichaud wrote. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate the vigilance, cooperation and courtesy of everyone in our university community. We thank each member of our community for doing their part to comply with the alert and to keep everyone on our campuses safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robichaud says wellness supports<\/a> are available for everyone at the university. <\/p>\nSantiago Proteau Sanchez, a student at the University, told CTV News Ottawa that he received a notification of the lockdown. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think at first, people didn\u2019t really care about the urgency of it, but I think with time passing and what we\u2019re seeing on different social media and from friend to friend we\u2019re taking this incident more and more seriously,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
During the lockdown, OC Transpo said uOttawa Station was closed, and Line 1 trains would not stop at the station. At approximately 7:20 p.m., O.C. Transpo said the station had reopened. <\/p>\n
Ottawa paramedics told CTV News they had not been called to the campus.<\/p>\n
With files from CTV\u2019s Stefan Keyes and Josh Marano.<\/p>\n