Man arrested after driving pickup onto front steps of Manitoba legislature

A dozen Winnipeg police vehicles raced to the Manitoba legislative building after a truck was driven up onto the front steps Wednesday evening.

Witnesses heard the screeching of the truck's tires as it barrelled onto the legislative grounds, blowing through the pylons at the front entrance.

The truck was seen backing up and then driving up onto the steps before coming to a stop, one witness said.

They then saw a man get out of the truck and heard him shouting. 

"He yelled out, 'There's children found in Ontario — Ontario's falling,'" said Wanda Leslie, who was staying in a nearby camp on the legislative grounds, formed in reaction to the discoveries of burial sites at former residential schools.

Police arrived soon after the truck parked and arrested the man, witnesses said. The driver was later taken by stretcher onto an ambulance.

He was heard yelling about bodies, graves and Indigenous children. He was begging officers to release him.

Winnipeg police said they dispatched multiple cars to the scene after receiving a call about the incident at 6:33 p.m. 

The incident unfolded amid heightened tensions at the legislative grounds.

Only metres away, a statue of Queen Victoria was pulled off its base following a Canada Day protest against the country's treatment of Indigenous people. Two separate rallies were held that day, with the Every Child Matters walk ending at the legislative grounds.

Earlier on Wednesday, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister denounced the people who tore down the statue as a setback to reconciliation efforts.

Shawna Peloquin was in the protest camp Wednesday and saw the man as he was arrested. She said the man who got out of the truck was not known to anyone in the camp.

"We saw the truck screeching. He could have hit one of ours. So I'm not sure what happened. And I'm wondering also, what was his intent?" Peloquin said.

After the man was arrested, police were seen leading a female into the legislative building in handcuffs. She was later led out of the building, uncuffed, sheepishly smiling and telling police she was embarrassed, before getting into the back of a cruiser.

Winnipeg police said nobody was hurt in the incident but wouldn't say if anyone has been charged.