Dopers who were watching the news yesterday may have seen that there was a gunman scare at the Université du Québec à Montréal. The sound of shots was reported and a bag with suspicious materials was found around midday. UQAM is a downtown university whose main campus consists of several buildings connected by underground tunnels, which are also connected to our central metro station, the Grande Bibliothèque, and a shopping mall.
Given our tragic experiences with school shootings, police and the university responded immediately and vigorously, locking down the building and nearby city streets and then evacuating them. People evacuated in an orderly fashion and the police operation went off without a hitch.
Apparently the bag contained bomb-making equipment and ammunition. A suspect was seen on video but has not been found. The sounds were found to be the result of firecrackers in an elevator shaft.
Happily, nothing happened, no encounters with any gunman were reported, and nobody was injured (three people were treated for shock), but there is an increased police presence on campus today.
I just wanted to give an update for any Dopers who were following the story and may have been concerned.