Threat ends at U of Manitoba after police called about man with large knife

An emergency situation that shut down the University of Manitoba's Fort Garry campus early Tuesday has ended without any arrests but police say there is no longer any danger.

Classes, however, remain cancelled for the rest of the day.

"It has been determined that there is no imminent threat to public safety. The major crimes unit continues to investigate this matter," a notice from the Winnipeg Police Service said just after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

During an afternoon news conference, police spokesperson Const. Claude Chancy was not able to provide many details on the investigation.

When asked how he can be certain there's no further risk to the public if no arrests have been made, he said "there's certain parts of the investigation that I can't bring to the table right now." Chancy also wouldn't comment directly on whether the suspect was caught on surveillance.

Reports of a man armed with a knife prompted officers to swarm the campus in south Winnipeg. Police first issued a public advisory on social media at 7:30 a.m., asking people to avoid the area around the Allen Building, at 30 Sifton Rd.

"There's a lot of people that are trying to locate this male right now, and we want people to remain safe," Chancy said around 8 a.m. The building was locked down, and Chancy said he was aware of underground corridors leading to the building as well.

Multiple officers from the tactical team, canine unit, general patrol and drone team were on scene at that time. By 10 a.m., though, all but one of the police vehicles had left the campus.

About a half hour later, police used a text-alert system to send out an emergency notice on mobile phones "to reach as many people as possible in the area," including students heading to classes, Chancy said at the press conference.

"That system has the technical ability to focus the text alerts to certain areas, using specific [cell phone] towers. So they concentrated on towers around the University of Manitoba."

The initial 911 call came around 6:30 a.m. from a student who reported seeing a man with a large kitchen knife in the Allen Building, Chancy told CBC News early Tuesday.

But during the afternoon news conference, he said campus security received the first report and wouldn't say who then contacted police, adding police got information from multiple sources.

Major crimes investigators have spoken to the person who made the initial report to security, he said, but would not comment on whether police believe it was unfounded.

The building — the physics laboratory, not a student residence — was unoccupied at the time the alert was issued because classes hadn't yet started for the day.

A notice from the university sent to students and staff informed them most classes were cancelled for the day. Classes that were already in session in other buildings, before the notice was sent out, continued as usual. All virtual classes and those located on the U of M's Bannatyne campus also went ahead Tuesday.

"If you are on [Fort Garry] campus, remain where you are, stay in place, and lock all doors. If you are not on campus, please do not come to campus," the morning notice from the university said.

An updated notice later in the morning said the shelter advisory was over and business could resume. 

Campus security worked with police

Gord Perrier, director of security services at University of Manitoba, said Tuesday afternoon that the incident required a primary emergency response and security staff were at the scene within minutes upon receiving a phone call from the reporting person.  

Perrier said the university worked with police to determine what needed to be communicated to the public and their next steps, but ultimately police took the lead. 

The U of M sent out information through an app along with an announcement over a loudspeaker at 8:22 a.m., asking people to avoid the area.

"We did work with them and we did release information on our application service once the police service indicated that they were using a provincial alerting system," he said. 

Perrier said he doesn't know whether the individual seen with a knife was a student or a visitor. 

When asked whether the university communicated details to students and staff quickly enough, Perrier said "There was clear communication from the beginning to wait for further details, sometimes those further details aren't immediate and I think that everybody wants immediate details, so I recognize that gap."

He said the university's security department consists of 40 people that cover both the downtown and southern Winnipeg campus on a 24/7 basis. 

"We respond to around 30,000 to 35,000 inquiries per year — 10,000 of those are of a criminal nature and you know, we're able to handle that with the staff that we have here," he said.

"Campus isn't exempt from crime and we are in a constant state of evaluation or debriefing after instances, and this will of course fall into that same process."

Police said some members will remain on campus to do additional patrols as a precaution, but did not say how long they would be there.

University's response created 'confusion'

University of Manitoba Students' Union President Divya Sharma called it a "scary time on campus" in the wake of recent incidents.

She said the union heard from a student on social media who said they were attacked.

The union also received numerous responses from students concerned by the lack of communication from the university to students in the immediate aftermath of the incident

"An incident like this is oftentimes quite unsettling for students," Sharma said.

She intends to speak with University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch and other administrative members later this week about the incident and bring forward the concerns of the student body.

Erik Thomson, president of the University of Manitoba Faculty Association, said the association and university administration are regularly in touch regarding policies and procedures surrounding campus safety are carried out effectively and in a timely matter.

But this incident has resulted in questions of safety.

"It certainly created a sense of confusion in lots of people's minds, so it's bad in that sense," Thomson said, while noting he doesn't have enough information to lay blame at anyone's feet.

"This is a moment where we should really review those communications."

Student Mikhail Precourt said while the situation was unfortunate, he was fine with missing class.

"I hope nobody gets hurt but I'm definitely happy that my lab is cancelled, just not the way I would want it to be cancelled, obviously," Precourt said before the emergency ended.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 204-986-6219 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online to Crime Stoppers.