This is a pretty serious situation. The Rideau Hall incident details have been revealed by the RCMP and it took two hours for it to be resolved. However, the Prime Minister was never in danger. A day after a man got into the grounds of Rideau Hall in Ottawa, the RCMP shared the timeline of what happened and how everything went down. It all took place from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on July 2 before the man was apprehended by officers. He breached the entrance at Thomas Gate, the main pedestrian entrance on the grounds, by ramming it with a pickup truck. That vehicle was disabled on impact. RCMP said he had several weapons in his possession and was seen walking the grounds with a firearm. The entire place was immediately put on lockdown. At 6:42 a.m., the man proceeded on foot to the greenhouse. He also hid in the rose garden for three minutes. Then at 6:45 a.m. officers tried to engage him in a discussion but he didn't respond until almost 10 minutes later. That dialogue lasted until just before 8:30 a.m. and that's when he was apprehended. As a precaution, the chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear and explosive team was deployed to search the man's vehicle and secure it. RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Duheme called this situation a "highly volatile incident." Now, there is increased security at Rideau Hall because of what happened. "There was never any danger to the Prime Minister and his family," said Duheme. He also noted that there was no danger to the Governor General either. That's because none of them were on the grounds at the time the man entered. Right now the RCMP isn't sharing any details about the man's motives or what kind of weapons he had since the investigation is still going on. He also won't be named by the police service until charges have been laid in court. Duheme said he couldn't comment on what he was doing before this or why he came to Ottawa. The RCMP does believe he was acting alone though. Duheme was asked about what he would say to people who have wondered if this situation would have turned out differently if the suspect had been a person of colour. "Our intervention, regardless of who the person is, is always based on the environment and the threat cues that are being posed," he said. The RCMP has faced backlash recently for the use of force against and the killings of Indigenous and other people of colour.
