Thread: Canada's parliament attacked by gunman after soldier shot dead

A gunman has attacked Canada's parliament shortly after a soldier was fatally shot at a nearby war memorial, forcing the capital Ottawa into lockdown.

The gunman was shot dead by the parliament's sergeant-at-arms, who has been hailed a hero by MPs who were caught in the building as dozens of shots were fired.




Local media have identified the gunman as Canadian-born Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, while the dead soldier was army reservist Nathan Cirillo (pictured).
Prime minister Stephen Harper was in the parliament meeting with MPs at the time and condemned the "despicable attack".

It was unclear whether there was any connection to an attack a day earlier when a man ran down two Canadian soldiers, killing one, near Montreal.

Canada announced this month it was joining the battle against Islamic State fighters who have taken over parts of Iraq and Syria.
Hours after the incident near Montreal, Canada raised its national terrorism threat level to medium because of a rise in "general chatter" from radical groups such as IS and Al Qaeda but said there had not been a specific threat.
The violence in Ottawa began about 10:00am (local time) when a soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot in the chest with a rifle.
The dead soldier was identified as Nathan Cirillo, a 24-year-old reservist serving with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada regiment.
It is believed that Zehaf-Bibeau then ran to the nearby parliament building where he opened fire when confronted by security staff.


Photo: Nathan Cirillo was standing guard at the National War Memorial when he was shot and killed. (Facebook)



Prime minister Stephen Harper was in the building meeting with MPs at the time and was rushed away to a secure location. He later condemned the "despicable attack".

Cabinet minister Jason Kenney said a parliamentary guard was wounded in the exchange of fire.

"Condolences to family of the soldier killed, and prayers for the parliamentary guard wounded. Canada will not be terrorised or intimidated," Mr Kenney tweeted.

Ottawa Hospital said it had received four patients, three of whom were in a stable condition.

Police chief Charles Bordeleau urged calm but warned residents to stay away from the city centre.

"We are very aware of the large presence of military personnel in our community and I want them to know that we are committed to their safety," he said.
MPs barricade themselves inside meeting room
Mr Harper was addressing a meeting of members of his Conservative Party and was removed from the building. Some MPs were forced to barricade themselves in the room.

"I literally had just taken off my jacket to go into caucus. I hear this 'pop, pop, pop', possibly 10 shots," Liberal Party member John McKay told reporters.

"Suddenly the security guards come rushing down the hallways and usher us all out to the back of the parliament buildings."
Veterans affairs minister Julian Fantino, a former policeman, said parliament's head of security, Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, shot dead a suspected gunman.

"All the details are not in, but the sergeant-at-arms, a former Mountie, is the one that engaged the gunman, or one of them at least, and stopped this," Mr Fantino said.

Photo: MP Nina Grewal took this photo of colleagues in the Conservative Party caucus room barricading themselves inside after shooting began. (Nina Grewal)


Witnesses to the Ottawa shooting said they saw a man armed with a rifle running into parliament after the shooting at the war monument.

A construction worker on the scene said he heard a gunshot, then saw a man dressed in black with a scarf over his face running towards parliament with a gun.

SoundCloud: North America correspondent Michael Vincent speaks to Canadian MP Charlie Angus

The man stopped a black car at gunpoint and hijacked it, construction worker Scott Walsh told Reuters.

The driver got out safely then the man drove the car to the Centre Block on Parliament Hill, where construction work is underway.

The gunman rushed past a woman with a child in a stroller, who ran away screaming. He did not attack the woman or child, Mr Walsh said.
Another witness, Marc-Andre Viau, said he saw a man run into the parliament precinct, chased by police who yelled "take cover".

That was followed by "10, 15, maybe 20 shots", possibly from an automatic weapon, he said.

Ottawa shooting: Canadian capital in lockdown after gunman fatally shoots soldier at war memorial; police search for more suspects - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The shooter has turned out to be the son of a Federal civil servant..!!

Shooting an unarmed soldier on honor guard at the national war memorial.... very jihady..... I'm glad they shot the SOB dead....saves us a shitload of cash on a team of defence lawyers and a trial.

Originally Posted by VocalNeal

You people, you think I know fuck nothing; I tell you: I know fuck all"

Never heard that one before...The former phrase, I mean...

Michael Joseph Hall.

Michael zehaf bibeau was a muslim convert and was on the terrorism watch list. He was allowed to roam because he had civil rights, rights he believed non Muslims did not merit.

How come he had a firearm inside Parliment

"The Sergeant-at-Arms is the senior official of the Canadian House of Commons. In this role, the sergeant-at-arms is responsible for the building services and security of the House of Commons, and is appointed by the Governor General acting on the advice of the Federal cabinet. The sergeant-at-arms carries the mace, the symbol of the authority of the House, in the daily parade into the House of Commons chamber. The current Sergeant-at-Arms is Kevin M. Vickers. On October 22, 2014, Vickers shot and killed an attacking gunman who had entered the parliamentary precinct, thereby ensuring the safety of hundreds of individuals located within the Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament buildings. [2]

Provincial legislative assemblies, houses of assembly, national assemblies, and provincial parliaments (the nomenclature for legislatures varying between provinces) also employ sergeants-at-arms for similar purposes."

Maybe why he was armed...Funny that that question would come up, wasabi, but since we are dealing with Canada here, I suppose it makes more sense than US of A, since everyone and their dogs are packing down there...

Thank you for the information, but I can see the future , when the conspiracy theorist thrash this out.
Just thought I would start the ball rolling.

The Sergeant-at-arms was not actually carrying a firearm, but he did have access to one locked up in his office. He's a long service RCMP veteran and well trained in the use of firearms....as well as being head of security for the Parliament building.

Probably just as well he had a gun handy, because there might have been a room full of dead MP's if the shooter had gotten past him. Wonder what the hysterical anti-gun lobby will be saying to their elected representatives after this little episode.

Guns are just such terrible things; until somebody saves your life by using one....

^Ain't that the sad truth...

Originally Posted by zygote1

Michael zehaf bibeau was a muslim convert and was on the terrorism watch list. He was allowed to roam because he had civil rights, rights he believed non Muslims did not merit.

Correction: Not on watch list. The Zehaf in his name comes from his father, a Libyan immigrant. Now people who knew him are coming forward to say he had been expressing violent sentiments for some time. His former mosque in British Columbia says it asked him to leave because of that. No mention of any effort by the mosque to counsel him against violence though. In an interesting twist, he was staying at a Christian charity supported rooming house for the homeless for the past 2 weeks. How nice that a man who reviled Christians had no problem in taking advantage of Christian charity.