Individual arrested after allegedly threatening the safety of persons at City Hall

Editor’s note: This article has been updated since it was originally published at 1:19 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. Please see bottom of article for most recently updated information.

Yesterday afternoon, Kingston City Hall was closed to all staff and members of the public for an undisclosed reason. Today, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, Kingston Police stated in a media release that an individual posted threatening comments online, including a potential threat to the safety of persons at City Hall.

Kingston Police said they were made aware of comments that had been posted on an online platform on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. According to the release, the comments, which were not directed toward any individual or group of individuals, indicated a potential threat to the safety of persons at City Hall.

“The Kingston Police Criminal Investigation Division commenced an investigation into these comments and through the course of that investigation were able to identify the individual responsible for making the comments,” police stated.

That same day, a 27-year-old individual from Kingston was arrested at their residence and charged with one count of uttering threats to cause death/bodily harm to a person.

The individual was transported to Kingston Police headquarters where they were subsequently held for a bail hearing, police said.

In response to Kingstonist’s inquries on Tuesday and Wednesday, the City of Kingston responded at 1:45 p.m. today with the following statement:

“We understand the temporary closure of City Hall has created concern and curiosity in the community. As noted in the media release issued by Kingston Police, this was an isolated incident and, in the interests of being as cautious as possible, we took the additional step of closing City Hall, as a temporary measure. We will continue to keep the community informed about next steps and want to reassure everyone there is no threat to public safety. More information will be available after 3:30 p.m. today. We appreciate your patience.”

Update (Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, at 4:40 p.m.):
Kingston City Hall will reopen for business as usual on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, staff with the City of Kingston report.

This comes after the municipal building was evacuated and closed down just after 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, for an undisclosed reason. As previously reported (see above), it was later learned that the closure of City Hall occurred due to “safety and security concerns.” City staff later updated the public to say an incident had led to these concerns and, earlier today (Wednesday, Nov. 29), Kingston Police issued a press release relaying that police had been investigating after comments of a threatening nature were posted online, specifically targeting City staff and those who work there. The individual behind those threats had been arrested, police said.

Now, City staff report that the 27-year-old arrested in connection to the incident has been remanded into custody. Additionally, City Hall will be reopen tomorrow, with staff returning and the public welcome in once again.

“We thank everyone for their concern and patience in dealing with this matter,” the City of Kingston said in an email to Kingstonist.