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Montreal Police Report No Immediate Threat at French Company, after Emergency Call 911 Call Spurs Fear and Evacuation, but Montreal Police Report No Threat
(about 3 hours later)
MONTREAL — People were being evacuated from the Montreal offices of Ubisoft, a French video game company, after a 911 call led police to converge near the building and urge residents to stay away. MONTREAL — Armed police officers converged Friday on the Montreal offices of Ubisoft, a French video game company, in response to a 911 call, and dozens of people were evacuated, but no threat was found and no injuries were reported.
The Montreal police later wrote on Twitter that there were no immediate reports of injuries, and that no threat was found for now. During the police operation, local television reports showed Ubisoft staff on the roof of their office building with doors barricaded. A police SWAT van was seen in the area.
During the police operation, local television reports showed Ubisoft staff on the roof of their office building, but the circumstances of why they were there were not immediately clear. A police SWAT van was seen in the area. The police did not immediately clarify the nature of the 911 call.
La Presse, a leading national French-language newspaper in Montreal, reported that Ubisoft employees had received an email telling them to barricade themselves, to hide and to put their phones in silent mode. Gilles Douaire, an online programmer at Ubisoft, said the episode appeared to have been a prank, “like somebody confused Friday the 13th with April 1st.”
Ubisoft has 17,000 employees at 55 studios around the world, making games like Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance. The Montreal office went through a major recruitment drive last year, and now has more than 3,000 employees, but because of the pandemic, many have been working remotely from home. In a LinkedIn message, Mr. Douaire said employees evacuated to the roof and to meeting rooms in adjacent buildings because the police were “not taking any chances.” Ubisoft Montreal is a campus that occupies several buildings in the area, he said.
The Mile End neighborhood where the office is located is known for its bagel emporiums, large Hasidic community and a cluster of high technology companies, of which Ubisoft is one of the major players. Ubisoft employees said they had received instructions from the authorities telling them to barricade themselves, to hide and to put their phones in silent mode.
The incident convulsed the surrounding neighborhood, called Mile End, which is well known for its bagel emporiums, a large Hasidic community and a cluster of high technology companies, of which Ubisoft is one of the major players.
Martin Blais, who works in an art gallery across the street from Ubisoft, said he was enjoying a quiet afternoon when dozens of officers arrived around 1:30 p.m., some with guns drawn. He said the police went from shop to shop on the street, telling merchants and customers to barricade themselves inside.
Unsubstantiated rumors of hostage-taking at Ubisoft, some reported by local media, spread through the close-knit neighborhood, Mr. Blais said, further spurring anxiety.
He said he went to the roof of his building to see what was happening and spotted dozens of Ubisoft employees on their roof. By 3:45 p.m., he saw the police evacuating Ubisoft employees.
“It was frightening,” Mr. Blais said, “it wasn’t clear what was happening.”
Mr. Blais said his anxiety was compounded by the date, Nov. 13, the five-year anniversary of attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, the most lethal attack in France since World War II.
“The date is chilling,” he said.
Ubisoft has 17,000 employees at 55 studios around the world, making games like Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance. The Montreal office went through a major recruitment drive last year, and now has more than 3,000 employees, but because of the pandemic, many have been working remotely.