City Hall closed until noon Tuesday: critical incident debriefing
There was a serious incident today inside the lobby at City Hall and a man was injured. City staff are now being offered mental health supports in the wake of this event.
The Saskatoon Police Service publicly shared the following details:
At approximately 2:00 p.m., November 2, 2020, Police responded to City Hall after reports that a man was in the lobby and threatening to cause harm to himself. The man then did produce a knife and caused injury to himself before police could intervene. There were no threats made against any other persons. The 21-year-old man was transported to hospital for treatment and is believed to be in stable condition at this time.
City Manager Jeff Jorgenson says there were many staff members who saw this happen and some may be deeply affected by this traumatic incident. “We understand what our staff members and first responders are going through, and we support them,” he says. “Our thoughts are also with the man that paramedics took to the hospital.”
Jorgenson says counselling resources are available to everyone touched by this. Most immediately, Jorgenson says one-on-one sessions are being arranged with trained counsellors for staff who need someone to talk to.
Additionally, to further help provide the necessary support and counselling to staff, City Hall and the customer care line will be closed on Tuesday, November 3rd from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Online services are available.
The advance polling station at City Hall, accessible through door 1A, will stay open.
We greatly appreciate everyone’s understanding and compassion at this time.