LATEST UPDATE: Well there is some good news regarding the Ubisoft Montreal hostage situation. The good news is that there never was a threat. The whole thing was a hoax, where someone inside the building made the phony call to the Montreal police. The bad news is, the whole thing was a hoax, and dozens of people were terrified for hours, stranded on a roof.
Everyone has been able to leave the building, but all of them were escorted to buses waiting outside, which will take them to the police station for questioning. So far, no one has been identified as the culprit of the hoax.
ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Some Ubisoft Montreal team members have reported getting out safely.
I’m safe, team here is safe, going home.
— Anouk (@Valskuiken) November 13, 2020
UPDATE: TVA Nouvelles has reported “dozens of people are seen on the roof of Ubisoft’s building, barricading the outside door.”
POSSIBLE PRISE D'OTAGE | Des dizaines de personnes sont vues sur le toit de la bâtisse d'Ubisoft, en train de barricader la porte extérieure https://t.co/wrwYBoebWN pic.twitter.com/WQA4dXcnHl
— TVA nouvelles (@tvanouvelles) November 13, 2020
EN DIRECT | Opération policière: l'hélicoptère TVA Nouvelles survole le secteur https://t.co/Oj4yEp0wcJ pic.twitter.com/o3iNBl7D1R
— TVA nouvelles (@tvanouvelles) November 13, 2020
The news station also commented that despite the situation going on around them, everyone on the roof appears to be quite calm. Unfortunately, however, there is also a daycare in the Ubisoft Montreal building. It is reportedly also barricaded and within the security perimeter the police have set up.
ORIGINAL STORY: According to a recent report from the Journal de Montreal, “dozens of people” are being held hostage at Ubisoft Montreal’s office building. TVA Nouvelles news station has additionally reported that there has been a ransom demand as well.
DERNIÈRE HEURE | Un groupe de suspects tiendraient des dizaines de personnes en otage, vendredi après-midi, à Montréal, dans un bâtiment qui abrite les locaux de la compagnie Ubisoft, sur le boulevard Saint-Laurent https://t.co/wrwYBoebWN pic.twitter.com/pKn9qCfO36
— TVA nouvelles (@tvanouvelles) November 13, 2020
Super rough translation: “A group of suspects are holding dozens of people hostage this Friday afternoon in Montreal, in a building that houses the offices of Ubisoft on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.”
A witness told TVA Nouvelles, “They were heading towards the Ubisoft tower.” We’re assuming the “they” means the hostage-holding suspects.
Tweets are also coming in from friends of those at Ubisoft Montreal, who are reporting what they are hearing from friends. Yes, it’s as nuts as it sounds.
https://twitter.com/yaraelsoueidi/status/1327325638747885573?s=20
Being told there's a hostage situation (?) somewhere on Saint-Laurent between Maguire and Saint-Viateur.
Saw cops with guns drawn as people came out of a Ubisoft building with their hands up… pic.twitter.com/dtSnNtaKvV— jesse dubé-smith (@jesseds) November 13, 2020
The Montreal police have commented on this as well, asking people to avoid the area. The tweet also stated that they are “currently validating information” and will provide details as they come.
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
At this time, the police are not sharing anything else with the media, and TVA Nouvelles commented that the employees were refusing to speak with them. However, the police did tell Kim Vermette from Radio-Canada that this hostage situation appears to have come from an armed robbery. There are other offices within the Ubisoft Montreal building, so it is possible that this armed robbery was against one of these other businesses.
We will continue to monitor this story as it develops.
