Ottawa shooting: Downtown lockdown lifted, police say

A lockdown at buildings in downtown Ottawa has ended Wednesday evening at 8:30 p.m., but police are cautioning people that Parliament Hill remains off limits because of the investigation into shootings.

• LIVE | Get the latest updates on the Ottawa shootings here

• Ottawa shooting: transportation in and out of the capital

Parliament Hilland much of the surrounding area in Ottawa were inlockdownfor most of the day as police investigated the shootings first at the National War Memorial and later the Centre Block of Parliament Hill.

Government buildings that had reinstated lockdownslate in the evening have also announced that the lockdowns had been lifted. Members of Parliament and workers on Parliament Hill were also being escorted out of the buildings after spending much of the day there.

Police said residents can expect to see "an increased police presence in key areas in the coming days."

Ottawa City Hall was also in lockdown. The City sent a notification late Wednesday that employees should plan to report to work as scheduled on Thursday.

"It is business as usual unless otherwise notified," the notification read.

Several other city buildings, including the courthouse, downtown community centres and libraries, were also in lockdown before closing for the day.The RideauCentre and World Exchange Centre were also in lockdown for much of the afternoon.

Many evening events in the city, including National Arts Centre performances and the Ottawa Senators home game, were also cancelled.

Schools

The University of Ottawa wasin lockdown but that has ended.

Some Ottawa-Carleton Public School Board schools in downtown Ottawa and Ottawa Catholic School Board schools werein secure mode, meaning students were not allowed to leave their classrooms and the doors to the schools are locked, but that has ended as school has ended.

Transportation

Ottawa airport

The Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier Airport is operational and heightened vigilance is being exercised. The airport is encouraging individuals to report suspicious activity immediately.

Public transportation

OC Transpo service was detoured out of the core in all directions but saidservice is running along Albert and Slater and said school service will run as normal as students are let go.Service to Gatineau is also now running as normal.

Ottawa bus station/Via train station

Both the central bus station servicing Greyhound buses and Via Rail have posted notices on their websites and on Twitter saying anyone who is unable to reach the stations due to lockdowns or who wants to cancel a planned trip to Ottawa today can exchange their tickets without penalty.