Ottawa man, 50, charged in Rideau Centre robbery
Ottawa police have charged a 50-year-old man in relation to a downtown robbery that prompted a large police operation and shut down the Rideau Centre mall.
Police say the man entered a business inside the shopping mall and when he was confronted by security, he brandished a firearm. He was arrested "a short distance away," police said in a release. No one was injured.
Carlos Smythe has been charged with robbery and several firearms-related offences. Police say "there are no further safety concerns" related to the incident.
On Tuesday, officers with guns drawn could be seen outside the mall, including near the entrance to the Rideau transit station shortly after noon. Heavily armed tactical officers could be seen entering a mall entrance on Rideau Street.
Police urged people to avoid the area. A message sent to employees said the building was locked down due to an emergency.
Employees who hadn't been evacuated were instructed to lock down within stores and stay away from the doors. A later message to mall tenants said police would be sweeping the mall floor-by-floor and store-by-store.
The mall reopened later Tuesday afternoon.
"The police operation is now over but the investigation is ongoing," Ottawa police tweeted just after 3:30 p.m. A spokesperson for Cadillac Fairview, the mall's owner, said that the mall is again open for business.
"The Ottawa police have completed their onsite investigation and CF Rideau centre is now open for the remainder of the day," the statement said.Police earlier tweeted they responded to a shoplifting call with a "possible weapon," that one person was arrested and there was no threat to public safety, but then deleted the tweet.
Mall employee Duran Mohamed was inside when police arrived early Tuesday afternoon.
"All of a sudden I hear security just yelling, trying to get everybody to evacuate the store," he said. Police then came into his store telling customers to leave, he said.
Several witnesses earlier reported the power went out inside the shopping centre. Customers just inside an entrance on Rideau Street were told to leave and run west, toward Sussex Drive soon after police arrived.
Ottawa's LRT service was suspended between uOttawa and Parliament stations, but has since resumed.
It's the mall's first day open in more than three weeks. It closed during the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation of downtown Ottawa, causing employees to lose wages and stores to lose revenue.
"I just feel so sorry for the poor employees at the mall," said Julia Niblock, who was shopping at nearby Hudson's Bay. "It’s their first day reopening and it’s what, two hours before this happens? So my sympathies are really more with them.”
- with files from Matt Skube, CTV News Ottawa
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.