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- A possible hostage situation at the Ubisoft video game studio in Montreal was ongoing Friday afternoon, Le Journal de Montreal reports.
- Police surrounded the Saint-Laurent Boulevard building in Montreal’s Mile End neighborhood. A live news broadcast showed employees on the roof.
- “We are verifying that a police operation is taking place, but we are not confirming a hostage situation,” a representative of the Montreal City Police Service told Business Insider.
- Employees on the roof could be seen barricading the door, and employees are reportedly barricaded in conference rooms within the building.
- Visit the Business Insider home page to learn more
A major video game studio in Montreal, Canada, took employees to the roof as local police surrounded the building on the street below Friday afternoon amid reports of a possible hostage situation.
A video from Le Journal de Montreal showed the scene as it unfolded Friday afternoon at Ubisoft Montreal, a highly successful video game studio in Montreal.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, Montreal’s police force, confirmed a “police operation” to Business Insider, but did not confirm whether the ongoing incident is “a hostage situation.”
—Montreal Police (@SPVM) November 13, 2020
Officers reportedly responded to a 911 call and no injuries have been reported. The operation is ongoing, with “specialized” agents on site “inspecting the facilities”, the SPVM said in a statement.
An armored police truck was seen arriving at the building, and employees on the roof could be seen barricading the door. Inside the building, employees were reportedly barricading themselves inside conference rooms.
Ubisoft Montreal is the main development studio for French game publisher Ubisoft, and is responsible for major franchises such as “Assassin’s Creed”, “Far Cry” and “Watch Dogs”.
It is located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, in the Mile End neighborhood of Montreal. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the office housed hundreds of employees, but since many employees have been working from home, an unknown and fewer number of workers were in the study Friday afternoon.
A Ubisoft representative told Business Insider: “We are aware of the situation and we are working with local authorities.”
Do you have a tip? Contact Business Insider Senior Correspondent Ben Gilbert by email ([email protected]), or Twitter DM (@realbengilbert). We can keep the sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to communicate. Public relations by email only, please.
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