A livestream on Elgin Street took an unexpected turn this weekend when Ottawa-based streamer Tiagz was arrested by police on camera, according to Instagram account @shottawa.tv, which first shared video of the incident.
According to the post, Tiagz was doing an IRL (in real life) stream on the Kick platform when officers approached him downtown after someone reportedly claimed he had a gun on him. Viewers tuning in watched the situation unfold live as police placed him under arrest.
@shottawa.tv, which covers Ottawa-area news and viral moments, noted that the claim has not been independently verified: no confirmation has surfaced that a firearm was actually found or recovered, and the account was careful to say the allegation should not be treated as proof Tiagz was carrying a weapon.
Who is Tiagz?
Tiagz has built a substantial online following through IRL content, the genre of livestreaming where creators walk around cities interacting with the public in real time. His channel on Kick, a streaming platform that has grown in popularity as an alternative to Twitch, currently has more than 50,000 followers. IRL streams have become a fixture of downtown Ottawa's Elgin Street and ByWard Market areas in recent months, with several creators broadcasting nightlife and street scenes to online audiences.
What happens next
As of now, Ottawa Police have not issued a public statement confirming details of the arrest, including whether charges were laid or whether the initial firearm report was substantiated. IRL streaming has increasingly put creators in the middle of unpredictable street encounters, and this isn't the first time a livestreamed arrest has gone viral online, though it appears to be one of the more high-profile incidents involving an Ottawa-based streamer.
Ottown will update this story if police release further details or if Tiagz addresses the arrest on his own channel.
Source: Instagram @shottawa.tv
