Two Saskatoon police officers have been stationed at City Hall following two shootings in Ottawa Wednesday morning.
Police Chief Clive Weighill said while no threats were made against the city, the measure was taken to ease citizens’ safety concerns.
“This is a big, shocking event for Canada. We’ve never had something like this before. It’s going to take time for people to absorb the shock,” Weighill told media hours after an attack in Ottawa placed Parliament Hill on lockdown and left a soldier and a gunman dead.
Saskatoon police were in touch Wednesday morning with other police services across Canada as well as Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Weighill said no threats had been made to anyone or any institution in the city.
“At this time, I can say there is no imminent threat to anybody in Saskatoon,” he said.
The city did not feel the need to close City Hall, but said many facilities would see entrance restricted to only main doors.
“We don’t want to overreact, but we do want to react,” said Tim Halstead, the city’s director of facilities.
University of Saskatchewan terrorism expert Ron Wheeler echoed Halstead’s statement. He urged the public not to overreact.
The city said they do communicate with emergency officials and do have security plans in place, but wouldn’t reveal details on their protocols.
Wheeler said updated precautions are important, but said they won’t completely eliminate the possibility of another attack.
“The problem is the terrorists can choose the time, the place and the target, and you can’t defend everything that’s a high-profile target,” Wheeler said.
Weighill said he expects the police officers to be stationed at City Hall for at least a day or two.
Security was also heightened at the Saskatchewan Legislature in Regina and the Canadian Forces base in Dundurn following Wednesday’s shootings.
