Police arrest armed man near PM’S residence

OTTAWA — Police arrested an armed man early Thursday who had gained access to an exclusive part of Ottawa where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives, though Trudeau was not home at the time, officials said.

Trudeau and his family are based in a large house on the grounds of Rideau Hall, the residence of Governor General Julie Payette, the official representative of head of state Queen Elizabeth. Rideau Hall sits on an 0.35 square km (88acre) wooded estate.

“At approximately 6:40 this morning, an armed man was able to access the grounds . . . the Prime Minister and the Governor General were not present at the moment of the incident,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on Twitter.

“The man was arrested shortly after without any incident. He is currently in custody and is being interviewed,” it stated, adding criminal charges were pending.

A spokesman for Trudeau confirmed that the 48-yearold prime minister was not at home at the time. Trudeau, who is married with three children, also has access to a summer house about 35 km northwest of Ottawa.

Unlike the United States, where four presidents have been assassinated since 1865, there is almost no history of serious political violence in Canada.

The one exception was in 1970, when a radical group seeking independence for Quebec kidnapped the Canadian province’s deputy premier and later killed him.

Trudeau donned a bulletproof vest for an election campaign rally in October last year after officials detected a security threat.

PATRICK DOYLE • REUTERS A police officer guards the front gate to Rideau Hall, and the grounds where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives, after an armed man was apprehended on the property early Thursday morning.