Thunder Bay police block streets while on scene of incident on north side
Woman escorted from scene by officers Friday morning; police continue to contain scene
Thunder Bay police have escorted a woman out of the building in the 100 block section of Cumberland Street North where they continue to respond to an ongoing incident.
Police were dispatched to the scene at about 8:30 a.m. ET Friday, blocking off streets and turning away pedestrians in the area of the Villa Square building at the corner of Villa Street and Cumberland Street North.
At approximately 11:15 a.m. Friday, a woman was escorted from the building by police. As of just after 1 p.m., the situation had not been resolved, and police remained on the scene.
No further details have been provided.
Nearby businesses lock down
Several businesses in the area have temporarily closed, including the McDonald's restaurant and the Bodymind Centre.
"I was in the middle of teaching classes and my manager came in and said that there was police presence outside, guns drawn, and that they had asked us to lock down the business and ask no one to leave or no new people to come in," said Monica Czapla, a yoga and Pilates instructor at the Bodymind Centre.
Staff began to shelter in place and all morning classes have been cancelled, she said.
Czapla said staff were waiting to hear further instructions from police.
"It's actually kind of frightening because we don't know what's happening. We're just kind of speculating on what's going on. But when you've got a ton of police outside and everyone's got their guns drawn, it's an eerie feeling."
Police have not confirmed with CBC the details of the incident or their response.