Police confirm that ‘shelter in place' alert went to wider area than requested amid search for armed suspect in Pickering, Ont.
Durham Regional Police Service issued an emergency alert after an elderly woman was fatally stabbed in Pickering on May 29.
Police lit up cellphones and TV screens with an emergency alert Thursday evening following a deadly stabbing in Pickering, Ont. But why did the notification to shelter in place reach as far as downtown Toronto?
The alert issued by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on behalf of the Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) went out at 5:39 p.m. More than two-and-a-half hours earlier, an incident outside of a residence near Lynn Heights Drive and Fairport Road left a senior dead.
Investigators say they are still in the early stages of probing the incident but have concluded that, 'after a brief interaction,' a 14-year-old suspect stabbed a female victim in a 'sadistic and cowardly, unprovoked attack.'
The suspect has been arrested but cannot be identified under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He's now facing a charge of first-degree murder.
The victim has not been identified by police. Police previously told reporters that the victim was outside her home at the time of the stabbing when she was approached by a male they believe she did not know.
Homicide Lynn Heights Drive Pickering May 29
Several police vehicles are stationed outside a home on Lynn Heights Drive in Pickering on May 29, 2025 after an elderly woman was fatally stabbed. (CTV News Toronto Chopper)
The emergency notification was issued through Alert Ready, Canada's national public alert system, by way of Ontario Provincial Police. The public was advised to 'shelter in place' and the suspect was described as an 'unknown male.'
Some people online say they received the alert in downtown Toronto. Others in York Region say they also got the message.
'Do they honestly think sheltering in place in all of Toronto and York is reasonable?' one Reddit user wrote.
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, DRPS said the decision to have residents shelter in place was made as the suspect was at-large and armed. They said that the process for issuing the alert must see police submit a request in writing to the OPP before provincial police make final approval.
'The DRPS provided a suggested area to shelter in place in our alert request to the OPP. The area the alert extends to, is at the discretion of the OPP. My understanding is the reach for the alert went further than the requested area as the armed suspect was mobile and there was an imminent threat to public safety,' a spokesperson said in an email.
DRPS added it has not received any complaints about the alert.
CTV News Toronto has requested more information from the OPP and the Ministry of the Solicitor General, which oversees public safety, security and emergency measures in Ontario, on the scope of Thursday night's notification but has not received a response.
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