(City of Red Deer)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

regularly reviews security measures

Red Deer City Hall prepared for active shooter & other scenarios, officials say

Jan 25, 2024 | 8:37 PM

Following a disturbing incident at Edmonton City Hall this week, the City of Red Deer is prepared to reassure residents that it’s ahead of the game when it comes to safety.

It was on Tuesday when a man fired a gun and ignited a Molotov cocktail inside Edmonton City Hall. The 28-year-old now faces six weapons charges.

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

The City of Red Deer told rdnewsNOW on Thursday that it has comprehensive security measures in place and regularly reviews and adjusts based on worksite assessments.

In November 2022, the City’s emergency management planning initiatives included a joint collaboration with RCMP, and a city-wide functional exercise based on an active shooter scenario at a City facility.

November 2024 Incident

Preliminary hearing scheduled for man charged in Ponoka County shooting incident

16h ago

long-time teacher

Red Deer Public Schools hires full-time social studies coordinator

17h ago

RESIDENTS DISPLACED

Red Deer Emergency Services responds to back-to-back residential fires

19h ago

“We have been monitoring the situation that occurred at City Hall in Edmonton and will work with our Emergency Management counterparts to learn more about the particulars of the incident and the identified lessons learned from their after-action report regarding this incident,” says Carol Lind, Emergency Management Coordinator.

Red Deer City Hall. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

Lind says if there are opportunities to improve upon current practices, The City will act as appropriate for the continued safety of staff and visitors.

“The objectives of the [2022] exercise were to review the City’s workplace violence procedures and reporting processes, staff education on how to respond to an active shooter scenario, emergency coordination of city resources, and staff and community mental health recovery resources,” continues Lind.

“Our thoughts are with the City of Edmonton and the staff involved in this incident.”

Perhaps the closest the City has come to an issue at City Hall, in recent years anyway, was on Sept. 28, 2016 when a man barged into a public hearing, disrupting proceedings with a loud rant. The man was escorted out by city councillors that night, and following the incident, City Hall added security to the building’s entrance and council chambers.

(with files from The Canadian Press)

—

Download the rdnewsNOW mobile app on Google Play and the Apple App Store for all the latest updates on this and other stories.

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the rdnewsNOW newsletter here. You can also download the rdnewsNOW mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.