Toronto police search for masked man, university locked down

A number of university buildings in downtown Toronto have been closed amid reports of a man dressed in all black with a backpack and mask.

A number of university buildings in downtown Toronto have been closed amid reports of a man dressed in all black with a backpack and mask.

The University of Toronto has been placed on lockdown after reports of a suspicious man on campus. (AP File Photo)

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said Monday that they received a call about the man and later reports that he might have a gun.

Saunders said he’s seen a photo of the male that someone took but he didn’t see a gun and they haven’t found anything. He said it looked like the man was wearing a surgical kind of mask.

Saunders said police were working to clear some of the buildings at the University of Toronto. It is in the neighborhood around Ontario’s provincial legislature. Several units, including the Emergency Task Force, are on the scene. Saunders said it looked like a surgical type of mask.

“It’s clear to say that we live in a different time right now,” Saunders said when asked if the public should be proactive in reporting suspicious activity following the nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, that was that was the worst mass shooting in US history.

Toronto Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook said the reports came from a building that is under construction on the University of Toronto campus. She said building security didn’t recognize someone wearing a mask, but police are uncertain if the person is a construction worker.

The University of Toronto, which surrounds the legislature, said a number of buildings on its downtown campus have been closed while police investigate.

All southbound lanes of a major street near the provincial legislature have also been closed.