A school was placed in hold and secure and a road was blocked to traffic in Cambridge as police set up containment around an empty home.
Police first arrived at the Dunbar Road home Thursday morning, under the belief that a suspect in a domestic altercation had barricaded himself inside.
By 1 p.m., a tactical team and a command post had been dispatched to the site.
Police spent several hours negotiation with the man in question.
By late afternoon, they had been given legal authority to enter the home. Upon doing so, they realized that nobody was inside.
Waterloo Regional Police Insp. Mike Haffner told reporters that police had been acting on information suggesting the man was inside, including photos that showed the house being barricaded from the inside.
Police said they remained in contact with the suspect after entering the home and were encouraging him to turn himself in.
Nearby, Ryerson Public School was placed under hold and secure, meaning nobody was allowed to enter or exit the building although people could move around freely inside.
The hold and secure was lifted at 4:45 p.m., meaning staff and students could return home after being kept in the building past the end of the school day.
With reporting by Nicole Lampa
