A police operation is underway in Montreal, the city’s police service (SPVM) said in a statement on Friday amid reports of a hostage situation near Ubisoft’s offices. Police have recently said there are no reports of injuries during the operation in Montreal.
The police officers asked people to avoid the area of the incident.
There is an ongoing police operation at the corner of Saint-Laurent and St-Viateur. We ask people to avoid the area. The #SPVM is currently validating information and more details will follow. pic.twitter.com/44PjWzsCOh
— Police Montréal (@SPVM) November 13, 2020
A member of Ubisoft working in production marketing said on Twitter "I got out and am okay".
Im not giving more info because the cops need to handle this. I got out and am okay, just thinking of my colleagues now. Please take care ❤️ tell people you love them etc, you know the drill
— Anouk Wolf-Kissed Total Landscaping (@Valskuiken) November 13, 2020
Another employee said the Ubisoft workers are now on the roof.
this is insane. this is my team on the roof. pic.twitter.com/xT12NpTALF
— Eric Pope (@MrPope) November 13, 2020
Videos of the scene were shown on Twitter.
#Canada 🇨🇦 | Une prise d’otages est en cours dans les locaux d’Ubisoft à Montréal. pic.twitter.com/D6YBldYKQO
— C O U P S U R E (@COUPSURE) November 13, 2020
Huge police presence here. Cruisers, vans and armoured trucks are rushing towards Ubisoft building. https://t.co/vCaqShuQgM pic.twitter.com/M0INjmMGpD
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 13, 2020
The SPVM also said that it will provide details about the situation as they become available.
"Police officers were dispatched to the scene to respond to a 911 call," a police spokesperson said, according to AFP.
"The information has still not been validated," the official also said, adding that "officers specializing in this type of intervention are currently on the scene and are carrying out checks."
Ubisoft Montreal is the main development studio of the French game publisher Ubisoft, which is responsible for such major franchises as "Assassin's Creed," "Far Cry," and "Watch Dogs."