BREAKING UPDATE: Man arrested after threats spark evacuation at Parliament Hill, no weapons or explosives found

The man was isolated to the security screening area, and the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) and the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) attended to facilitate an evacuation of the building and surrounding area.

Multiple OPS and PPS resources were deployed, including OPS CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives), Emergency Services Unit, K9, Tactical, Negotiators, Neighbourhood Resource Teams and Traffic. After hours of negotiations, the man surrendered peacefully to police and was arrested on scene. Several packages were found in the area and were searched and cleared by police.

No one was injured in the incident. No explosives, weapons or hazardous materials were located on the accused."

Original story follows:

A lockdown was declared at Parliament Hill's East Block on Saturday by the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS), which sent out a message that instructed officials to "seek shelter in the nearest room,” as police responded to a “barricaded man” in the East Block.

Police reported in a post, “Officers are on scene at Parliament Hill for a barricaded man in the area of East block. There is a large police presence in the area. East block has been evacuated. There are no known injuries and police continue to deal with an individual in this ongoing incident that began just before 3 p.m. Please avoid the area and follow the direction of officers. Road closures remain in place on Wellington St. from Bank Street to Sussex Drive.

According to CTV News, the message from PPS in announcing the lockdown read, “Seek shelter in the nearest room. Close and lock all doors and hide." The message was sent at 2:45 pm. The message also asked for those at Parliament Hill to "wait for further instructions from first responders."

"If you are not in the immediate area, stay away until further notice. Do not travel to locations under lockdown," the message added.

Police have asked that the public avoid the area. "There is an ongoing police operation on Parliament Hill at the moment. Please avoid the area. There is no further information. Updates to follow," the police posted on X.

This is a developing story. Please refresh for updates.