Ottawa police say a 50-year-old man who was arrested in relation to an incident that sparked a temporary shutdown of the Rideau Centre mall in Ottawa on the afternoon of Feb. 22 has been charged.
In a press release issued later that day, Ottawa police said there aren’t any further concerns for public safety after arresting Ottawa resident Carlos Smythe, who is now being charged with robbery and several firearms-related offences.
The police said they received calls reporting an armed man at the shopping mall around 12:15 p.m. ET on Feb. 22.
“The suspect entered a commercial business inside the shopping mall where he committed a theft and when confronted by Loss Prevention officers, he brandished a firearm,” said the release from the Ottawa Police Service.
“The suspect fled on foot and was arrested a short distance away. There were no reported injuries.”
Police responded to the incident with guns drawn. While a dozen police cars with flashing lights sat in front of the mall’s various entrances, police closed off the block in front of the northwest doors with yellow tape.
At least six officers were observed guarding interior doors at the south entrance, one of them carrying a rifle.
A nearby school went into lockdown briefly as the events began to unfold, but returned to normal operations within an hour.
At 12:46 p.m., the Ottawa police posted on Twitter asking the public to avoid Dalhousie Street to the Rideau Canal and the Mackenzie King Bridge in the city’s downtown.
At 12:55 p.m., the police posted and then deleted a statement on Twitter saying they were responding to a shoplifting call with a possible weapon and one person had been arrested.
They posted again at 1:10 p.m. that “one person is in custody” and that the “police operation” was still underway.
At 3:31 p.m. the police confirmed that the three-hour-long operation at Rideau Centre was completed.
Witnesses said they were inside the mall working or shopping when some of the lights went out and stores started closing their doors. Shortly after that, someone on the public address system said everyone should evacuate immediately.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
