2009 Workers Compensation Board of Alberta hostage crisis

The 2009 Workers Compensation Board of Alberta hostage crisis also known as the 2009 WCB Alberta hostage crisis or the 2009 Edmonton hostage crisis was a hostage taking incident that took place in Edmonton, Alberta on October 21, 2009, over nine people were held hostage for more than 10 hours and fortunately none of the hostages were injured. This hostage taking incident has raised issues regarding safety procedures within government buildings, including the possible implementation of metal detectors similar to those used at provincial courthouses.
Incident
Shortly before 9 a.m., M.T. a 911 call was received stating that an armed man entered the building at 107 Street and 99 Avenue in Edmonton just after 8:30 a.m. M.T. Police said the gunman was able to detain a total of nine hostages, but one was released almost immediately. After hours of negotiation throughout the course of the day, hostages were released one by one. The Edmonton Police Service tactical unit and officers from the local division were dispatched to the area and began to evacuate hundreds of people from the building. Inside an eighth-floor conference room, six women and two men were held hostage by the rifle-toting man who police described as a disgruntled WCB client in his late 30s. A neighbour of the suspect's, said the man, who he knew only as Pat, was a good guy, but has a temper. Bellerose said Pat has been furious with the WCB for the past week and a half, but Bellerose couldn't say why. Several weeks ago, a WCB doctor had wrenched Pat's injured knee, tearing ligaments and making it worse. I've had an idea for about two weeks that something was going to go off. Police talked to the man out of the building during a negotiated surrender, Before taking employees hostage, the gunman got past a security guard and gained access to the eighth floor. It's not clear how he made it beyond security and a swipe-card system. During the hostage-taking incident, about 700 WCB employees were safely evacuated. The WCB employees were driven about a block from the scene by Edmonton Transit System buses and debriefed by cops and the gunman spoke with one negotiator by phone throughout the terrifying ordeal.
Arrests
The hostage taking incident ended peacefully at about 6:30 p.m. M.T., when the gunman surrendered to police moments after releasing his last hostage.

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