Two Edmontonians are upset about what they say was inaction by Edmonton Transit System security after they phoned twice about an emergency.

Azeez Ahmed and Larysia Woropay were waiting at the Central Station LRT at about 3 p.m. Tuesday when they say they saw a belligerent man yelling at people and talking to himself.

"He started talking about him having a gun and wanting to shoot himself and he also said he might jump from the platform," Ahmed said.

An alarmed Woropay used the emergency phone on the LRT platform to reach security.

She and Ahmed gave a description of the man to ETS security and told them the man said he had a gun.

But the phone call suddenly ended.

"The phone cut off." said Ahmed "I don't know if it was a disconnection or if the person hung up."

The two waited by the phone but nobody called back or showed up.

Instructions on the phone say to stay by the phone until help arrives.

One of the emergency phones at Central LRT station. (Nola Keeler/CBC)

The man who said he had a gun had by then left the LRT platform, but Ahmed and Woropay could still hear him upstairs in the station.

Woropay had to leave so she got on a train, leaving Ahmed behind.

He went upstairs because he could still hear the man yelling.

"He was sitting there still being belligerent to people walking by, yelling," Ahmed said.

Waited almost an hour for security

Ahmed called ETS security again, this time on his cell phone.

"I told them everything … the information about where he was heading and that he was still being belligerent to people," he said. "They said they would send somebody by. I waited for another 20 minutes."

Eventually the man got up and went back down the stairs to the LRT platform.

Ahmed followed but lost sight of him.

By this time, it was almost 4 p.m.

"There was still no security so I just decided to head home," he said.

'Other stuff was a higher priority'

A spokesperson for ETS security acknowledged the two calls were received, but said they came at a busy time.

Security officers were dispatched to the man's last known location shortly after the second call, said Chuck Van Deel Piepers, director of safety and security for ETS.

"There were a number of events happening … it was just one of the ones we were dealing with," Van Deel Piepers said.

"We've got a whole lot of things happening behind the scenes. It's critical to understand the person had left the place and you know, there was just some of the other stuff was a higher priority at that point."

He said security responded according to the information they had received — particularly that the man had left the LRT platform.

The area at Central LRT where Azeez Ahmed saw the man continue to yell at people after he left the platform. (Nola Keeler/CBC)

"Safety is our priority," he said. "The fellow was intoxicated. They indicated he was going to do self-harm, not [harm] others."

Van Deel Piepers said he doesn't know why the emergency phone suddenly cut out in the middle of the call but says all phones were checked and are in working order.

Won't call ETS security again

Those explanations aren't good enough for Ahmed and Woropay.

"He was clearly unstable and if he mentioned suicide — there's a train," said Woropay.

"You never know what someone like that will do. That's the thing. With that response time someone could have died potentially that day.​"

The two sent a Twitter message to Mayor Don Iveson about the incident. He responded two hours later with a tweet saying what happened was concerning and asking them to fill out an incident form.

Belligerent, intoxicated male states he has a gun at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YEG?src=hash">#YEG</a> Central LRT. Call the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ETS?src=hash">#ETS</a> Emergency phone. Twice. Wait & no response? <a href="https://twitter.com/doniveson">@doniveson</a> —@AzeezAhmed <a href="https://twitter.com/Larysia">@Larysia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AzeezAhmed">@AzeezAhmed</a> that's concerning. I'd be happy to have my team investigate. Can you send more specifics here: <a href="https://t.co/sGoWONAfyT">https://t.co/sGoWONAfyT</a> —@doniveson

Van Deel Piepers said the two did the right thing by calling ETS security. Their efforts are appreciated, he said.

But neither Ahmed or Woropay are feeling appreciated, especially after learning that a camera is activated as soon as the security phone is used.

"The fact that they could see us and that we were waiting and that we made the phone call more than once," Ahmed said. "It's a bit sad knowing they were able to see us and still no response happened for over an hour."

Woropay said if she finds herself in a similar situation, she's going to call Edmonton police instead of ETS security.

"I wouldn't bother with the emergency phone because it's proven incompetence, in my opinion, on ETS security's part."