Pro-Palestinian protesters have barricaded themselves inside the James Administration Building on McGill University’s downtown campus.
The university confirmed in a brief statement late Thursday afternoon that protesters had occupied the university's main administrative building but did not elaborate on who they were.
Officials also confirmed there were barricades outside the building.
“Police and security services have arrived at the scene,” the statement read.
At 5 p.m., a Montreal police spokesperson said officers had arrived at the scene to assess the situation.
“This is just a first step, just an observation. We are not intervening for now,” said Sabrina Gauthier, a spokeswoman for the Montreal police.
Meanwhile, the Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights at McGill (SPHR McGill), which has set up tents on campus to demand that McGill divest its funds from Israel, called on social media to support those trapped in tents on campus.
“Students have occupied the McGill Administration Building to demand that McGill University sever its ties to the genocide,” Sphr McGill wrote on X. “Everyone come out to support the students and escalate the Rafa operation.”
In a second post, SPHR McGill referred to the protesters as “a group of autonomous students.”
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Dozens of tents have been set up at McGill since the camp began on April 27, amid a wave of similar protests at universities across the United States over the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In May, McGill failed to convince a Superior Court judge that the situation at the camp was urgent enough to warrant a temporary injunction.
An earlier request for an injunction by two McGill students was also dismissed.
— With information from Global News' Kalina Laframboise and Canadian media
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