After a Shooting at Their Office Building, Hamilton City Workers Waited Nearly an Hour for an Emergency Alert

On Friday, April 24, shots rang out over Jackson Square, a mall and office complex in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, as an altercation between three teenagers turned deadly.

Within minutes, mall security issued an announcement over the loudspeakers encouraging people to take shelter inside stores.

Hamilton Police said they responded to the call around 5:10 p.m., where they found 16-year-old Nabil Askafe in critical condition. The suspects had already fled the scene, and Askafe was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Although the on-the-ground response by police and security may have been prompt, PressProgress has learned a key emergency-notification tool used by the City of Hamilton failed to inform city employees who work in offices above the mall of the ongoing emergency situation at their workplace.

PressProgress has obtained timestamped messages from Hamilton’s Emergency Notification System (ENS) sent to employees signed up to receive them. The first emergency message was received by employees at 6 p.m., nearly an hour after the shooting, which police say occurred just inside the building’s entrance at 110 King St. W. — steps from the elevators to the mid-rise tower where the city maintains office space.

“This is an important message from City of Hamilton’s Corporate Safety & Security,” read the 6 p.m. message. “A significant Police presence is located around and inside the Jackson Square mall property for a reported shooting event. Hamilton Police are starting to perform a lockdown of the entire mall property including City operated areas.”

The message advised staff in the downtown core to “stay away from this area” and staff inside the mall to “follow instructions from the overhead speaker system and responding law enforcement” and to “remain in secured at this time” (sic).

A screenshot of the first emergency notification received by a city worker on April 24 (url fully visible in original).

By the time City of Hamilton staff received those messages, some workers, who were not on site at the time, had already informed each other of the shooting in group chats.

“Omg that’s so scary!!!!” one worker responded to a colleague’s text telling them about the shooting, screenshots of which were obtained by PressProgress. “We didn’t even get an alert either!”

“I’m surprised we didn’t get an alert,” wrote another. “We’ll see if anything comes up on the news.”

Minutes later, the person added, “Just got the text – that was delayed.”

According to emergency-notification messages, the police lockdown of Jackson Square lasted until 8:10 p.m. Two days later, the alleged shooter turned himself in.

But the city’s delayed emergency notifications have left workers with lingering concerns about their employer’s ability to keep them safe in their workplaces.

According to police, the shooting at Jackson Square took place just inside the front doors at 110 King St. W. (pictured at top, and marked with a star on the map), with the victim ultimately making it as far as the Wireless+ store before collapsing. Also visible at top is the bank of elevators for the Robert Thomson Building, where the City of Hamilton has offices. (Screenshot at top via Jimmy Limit on Google Street View, map at bottom via Jackson Square.)

City of Hamilton workers who spoke with PressProgress on the condition of anonymity expressed frustration with the Emergency Notification System for the delay during the April 24 event, and for the unclear language in the messages relayed by the system.

“There are times when we get them for incidents and then never find out what actually happened,” one of the workers said.

The staff member added that they recently received a notification for a “hold and secure” at another building in Hamilton. The notification said police were on site, but further information was not shared.

According to the City of Hamilton’s 2022-2023 Corporate Safety and Security annual report (pdf), the city began planning in July 2020 to expand the use of an emergency-notification system from Rave Mobile, to “provide the safest possible work environment.”

James Berry, a spokesperson for the City of Hamilton, confirmed in a statement that the ENS issued its first message to staff about the incident at 6 p.m. According to Berry, the Corporate Safety and Security team became aware of a police presence near Jackson Square at 5:33 p.m., but “at that time, the nature of the activity and any potential impact to City operations or staff safety had not yet been confirmed.”

“While the ENS message was issued once the City had verified and assessed the available information, the City recognizes the importance of continuous improvements in emergency communications and timely staff notifications,” said Berry, adding the city was “reviewing opportunities to further strengthen situational awareness and notification processes.”

Rave Mobile Safety moved into the Canadian market in 2017, after acquiring Emergency Response Management Services Corp., an Oakville, Ontario-based emergency-notification-system provider.

Rave was itself then acquired in 2022 by Motorola Solutions, the legal successor to Motorola Inc. that focuses on security technology, for an undisclosed amount. The chairman and CEO of Motorola Solutions, Greg Brown, told investors in the company’s 2022 fourth-quarter earnings call that the acquisition of Rave added around $70 million USD in revenue for the company.

Hamilton’s emergency-notification system was first introduced for use by staff working at city hall, with other city facilities and properties brought into the system in phases, which included training for staff. By 2024, the notification system had been expanded to include all of the city’s 8,000 staff.

On April 27, the Monday after the shooting, employees received an email from Hamilton city manager Marnie Cluckie. The email acknowledged the tragic violence that occurred the previous Friday, as well as the impact it had had on many staff, and provided a list of support resources for those present for the lockdown. The email also praised the Emergency Notification System.

“We also want to acknowledge that during Friday’s incident, established safety protocols were followed and communication systems, including the Emergency Notification System (RAVE), were activated as intended,” read Cluckie’s email. “These measures are in place to support your safety in real time and are most effective when staff are informed and connected.”

One staff member told PressProgress this message did not go over well with employees.

“What really got to us was the fact that they really seem to be putting the onus on what staff can do to avoid these situations, but there was nothing in there about how the city is going to respond to help improve staff safety,” said the staff member.

In the email, the city manager provided advice such as how to stay safe while commuting. This advice included “Be aware of your surroundings” and “Stay in well-lit areas.” The message also provided information on how to interact with the public, which included advice like “Use verbal de-escalation” and “Know when to walk away.”

Days later, the union representing workers at the City of Hamilton released a statement responding to members’ concerns.

“The Union is following up with the Employer regarding concerns raised by Employees about delays in reporting through the RAVE system, and is requesting an explanation as to why Employees have not yet been provided with an opportunity for a debrief,” wrote Jason Lucas, president of CUPE Local 5167.

Lucas’s statement encouraged workers to continue sharing their concerns with the employer, as well as with the local’s Joint Health and Safety Committee in order to submit recommendations to management.

CUPE Local 5167 did not respond to questions from PressProgress.

On May 4, the city manager contacted staff with another email.

“Following recent events in the downtown, I want to share some immediate steps being taken today to support the health, safety and well-being of staff working in our downtown locations who may feel concerned by recent events,” said Cluckie. “Corporate Security, in partnership with our security contractor (CPS) will be increasing its on-site presence and visibility across City locations in the core.”

The email went on to list locations where security would now do check-ins and provided links to resources that included a sign-up for ENS alerts, de-escalation tips and information on workplace violence prevention.

Since this email, one worker has told PressProgress their team has had a lockdown review. They also mentioned receiving an email reminding workers to forward media requests from journalists to corporate communications.

PressProgress contacted Motorola Solutions to ask if there could have been a technical reason for the delayed notification, but did not receive a response.