Hoax triggered major police operation at Mile End Ubisoft offices, police confirm

The 911 call that sent police and ambulances to the offices of a Montreal gaming company on Friday was a hoax, police sources have confirmed. 

Dozens of police officers, some of them heavily armed, arrived outside one of the buildings used by Mile End Ubisoft — at the corner of St-Laurent Boulevard and St-Viateur Street, a neighbourhood in the central Plateau-Mont-Royal borough — around 1:30 p.m. ET. Ambulances were also at the scene.

Specialized tactical officers evacuated the building. But no threat was detected and no one was injured, police say. They say the operation began in response to a 911 call, now deemed a hoax, earlier in the afternoon.

The specifics of the hoax remain unclear.

At one point dozens of people were seen after apparently barricading themselves on the roof of the red-brick building. They had blocked the door opening onto the roof with large objects. 

Police set up a perimeter around the building and had been asking people to avoid the area. 

Christophe Derennes, the managing director of Ubisoft Montreal, released a statement Friday evening, saying, "The entire Ubisoft community in Montreal, in Quebec and around the world is overwhelmed by the events we experienced today and, above all, relieved by their outcome."

Derennes said psychological services are being offered to employees. He also thanked Montreal police for how they handled the situation.