More hostages released in Edmonton armed standoff: Reports

EDMONTON — An armed gunman who had been holding hostages for several hours at a downtown Edmonton has released several people uninjured, according to media reports from the scene.

Two more people were reportedly still being held captive inside the Workers Compensation Board building since early Wednesday. Earlier reports suggested nine people were being held.

The released hostages were being debriefed by the police investigations, said the report.

Edmonton police have been in negotiations with the man — said to be armed with a high-powered rifle — for several hours. One gunshot was reportedly fired but no one has been injured.

The man entered the building around 8:30 a.m. local time and was able to pass by an unarmed security guard on duty at the time and the pass system that controls access to the building.

According to WCB spokeswoman Dayna Therien, the man was a client of the WCB.

There were 700 people in the building when the incident began.

An acquaintance of the man believed to be the hostage-taker said he has a long-standing grudge against the WCB. Don Bellerose said his friend was upset with a doctor in the building who had jerked his knee too far during a checkup, damaging his ligaments.

Bellerose said he has only heard his neighbour's side of the story, and he suspects there is a lot more to it. But from what his neighbour told him, the WCB felt the man was ready to go back to work and he disagreed.

In the last month, Bellerose said, the man has grown increasingly agitated and angry about his situation.

"He was normally not unstable," Bellerose said. "He was very boisterous and very, very high-strung."

Still, Bellerose never thought he would do something like this.

"The gun part really scares me."

The WCB dispute was not the only one plaguing the gunman, Bellerose said.

He was also engaged in a long custody dispute with the mother of his child, and three months ago he threatened to throw himself off Edmonton's High Level Bridge, shutting traffic for several hours.

A witness on the eighth floor told Global News the gunman was in the claims department, and she heard what sounded like two gunshots.

Workers said they saw a nervous-looking man with a long case sitting on a large plant pot outside the building earlier Wednesday morning.

Contract electrician Brad Herhauf was working inside the building when WCB employees told him a man with a gun was wandering around.

Herhauf was in the data centre at the time and was one of the last people evacuated, he said.

The evacuation was hectic, and several people were crying as they got out of the building, he added.

Investigators are interviewing some of the people who were in the building.

A local news radio station reported the man is wearing a camouflage jacket and carrying a backpack. According to News 880, he has told police he is "mad at the world" and blames a WCB doctor for most of his trouble.

The radio report said the man told the police negotiator he wanted cigarettes and some water, and promised to release one of his hostages in exchange. It's not known if that exchange took place.

Police cars have cordoned off the area, with officers crouching behind their cruisers. Police are setting up a command post near the building, said police spokesman Dean Parthenis.

Other people rushed to get off the street.

Workers ran out the front door of the building across the street toward police. "We were told to stay as close to the building as we could when we were leaving," said Wayne Hall, a case manager who works on the sixth floor.

Police ushered WCB employees to a bus shelter outside the old Federal Building near the legislature.

Between 200 and 250 people on the legislature grounds were taken away by chartered city buses.

People, some in their jackets and others in shirt-sleeves, used cellphones to call family members.

For several years, the WCB has had a policy of checking whether claimants have criminal records, and flags those who do as a safety precaution for staff handling the claims.

The board said the practice was initiated in response to previous violent incidents at board offices in Edmonton and Calgary.

In past years, there have been several serious incidents of frustrated injured workers exploding with anger.

In 1991, a worker committed suicide with a gun in a Calgary WCB parking lot.

In 1993, a shotgun-toting worker took several hostages at the Calgary office before surrendering.

The WCB had direct access to claimant criminal records until 1996, but now must do the checks through city police.

Headed by president and CEO Guy Kerr, the WCB is a no-fault insurance system that was established to compensate workers for their work-related injuries. The program, established by the Alberta government, is funded through premiums paid by employers.

As a trade-off, Albertans covered by WCB cannot sue their employers for work-related injuries. Over the years, there have been many calls for an overhaul of the system to make it more fair to injured workers, and a new appeal process was established for workers whose claims have been rejected.

Family members and loved ones of those still inside the WCB building are asked to call a special police hotline 780-421-3550 for more information.