University Of Toronto Put On Lockdown After Reports Of "Suspicious" Masked Man

Police cleared the buildings and say there is no threat to public safety.

Police lifted a lockdown of a large part of the University of Toronto's downtown campus Monday afternoon after several hours investigating reports of a "suspicious person."

Cole Burston / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Police received a call about a masked man entering the Trinity College building in the morning, followed by another call about a man with a gun seen on campus. However, police stressed that reports of a gunman were "completely unconfirmed."

"That information was very limited and we have been unable to reconnect with [the caller] to confirm what it was they saw and to confirm the legitimacy," Constable Allyson Douglas-Cook told BuzzFeed Canada.

Toronto Police said that tactical units "cleared" the buildings and found "no threat to public safety." The surrounding streets were reopened to traffic shortly thereafter.

Cole Burston / THE CANADIAN PRESS

The SickKids Hospital and Women’s College Hospital, both located within blocks of U of T campus, were also on lockdown as police investigated.

One person was arrested, but Police Chief Mark Saunders said in a brief press conference that the man in custody was "under investigation for something else."