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Canada  

Parliament Hill shooting

The Globe and Mail (YouTube)

The CBC and Global news are confirming that the man in this photo, originally posted by terrorist group ISIS on Twitter, is the shooter in Ottawa. 


Update -- 1:30 p.m.

Other media outlets are now reporting that the soldier killed was Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a 24-year-old reservist from Hamilton. He was a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

The gunman killed inside Parliament is said to be Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a Canadian citizen said to have been born in 1982. It's believed he shot Cirillo outside at the National War Memorial, before heading towards the Centre Block inside the Parliament buildings.


Update -- 12:30 p.m.

 

 

Ottawa police are staying tight lipped on what information they have on Wednesdays shooting at Parliament Hill.

They have confirmed that one shooter is dead, but would not say whether more shooters are still loose in the area.

“This is an ongoing joint police operation and there is no one in custody at this time,” said a statement released by the police service.

It goes on to ask Ottawa residents to stay away from the downtown area while the investigation continues as they continue clearing offices on Parliament Hill and from the surrounding area.

A number of RCMP and Federal government building are also closed to the public at this time, including City Hall and all Ottawa police stations.

The unnamed solider killed while standing guard at the National War Memorial was a reservist from Ottawa. His identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin. Witnesses say he was shot “point blank” by a masked, rifle-wielding gunman, who then moved up the street to launch an attack on nearby Parliament Hill, in which at least two people were injured.

A security guard is believed to be among those who were wounded in Parliament's Centre Block, where an assailant was shot dead by the sergeant-at-arms of the House of Commons. No details about the second injured person were immediately available.

However, security staff on the Hill have told some MPs' offices they believe there may be as many as three shooters. Heavily armed tactical officers could be seen searching rooftops in the immediate parliamentary precinct.

Police would only say they are investigating "several shooting incidents in downtown Ottawa."

The incident comes just two days after two Canadian soldiers were run over — one of them fatally — in Quebec by a man with jihadist sympathies.

Tony Zobl, 35, witnessed the soldier being gunned down at the War Memorial from his fourth-floor office window directly above the monument.

"I looked out the window and saw a shooter, a man dressed all in black with a kerchief over his nose and mouth and something over his head as well, holding a rifle and shooting an honour guard in front of the Cenotaph point blank, twice," Zobl told The Canadian Press.

"It looked like the honour guard was trying to reach for the barrel of the gun," said the witness.

"The honour guard dropped to the ground and the shooter kind of raised his arms in triumph holding the rifle."

Zobl said the shooter then ran up the street toward Parliament Hill.


Update -- 10 a.m.

It is now being reported that three people have been taken to hospital, with two of those patients in stable condition. Police say the gunman wounded a soldier, before injuring a security guard on Parliament Hill, where he was reportedly shot dead. 

Another witness at the scene, construction worker Scott Walsh, says he was working in a manhole near the East Block building, between the memorial and the Centre Block, when he heard two gunshots echo down the street.

Walsh says in the ensuing panic people around him started screaming, including a woman pushing a child in a stroller.

He said she started to run, so he went to help her.

That's when he saw man with long black hair, his face covered by a white scarf with decals on it and wearing a black jacket.

"He had a double-barrelled shotgun, he was about five feet from me, and he ran right beside us, ran past the woman with the stroller and child," he said.

The gunman then hijacked a dark car at gunpoint, he said, and drove it up towards the Peace Tower.

A second vehicle, with no rear licence plate, was parked directly in front of the Langevin Block in a no-parking zone. Sources say the vehicle remains a source of concern to authorities.

Bomb-detecting robots have been deployed in the area.

It has also been confirmed by CBC News that the soldier shot at the Canadian War Memorial has died in hospital. 


Update -- 8:45 a.m.

Police are expanding a perimeter around Parliament Hill after a gunman opened fire at the National War Memorial, wounding a soldier, then moved to nearby Parliament Hill where he was reportedly shot by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms after wounding a security guard.

The Hill remains under lockdown amid reports there may be two to three shooters, according to a senior official locked in the Official Opposition Leaders' office.

Police say they are investigating "several shooting incidents in downtown Ottawa."

The Langevin Block, home of the Prime Minister's Office across the street from Parliament Hill, has now been evacuated and citizens are being moved back more than two blocks from the Parliamentary precinct.

Police herded bystanders off the street into a major office building and warned people to stay away from the windows.

Canadian Forces bases across the country have also been closed to public in wake of the shooting. 

That Includes here in Kelowna, where the British Columbia Dragoons Reserve Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment has been directed to adopt a "heightened state of vigilance".  Captain Jeff Daley says it is business as usual, but the gate of the base has been locked down and it might be harder for the public to contact the Dragoons at this time.

It is still too early to link Wednesday's shooting to an incident where two Canadian soldiers were hit by a speeding car in Quebec on Monday.


Update -- 8:15 a.m.

A gunman opened fire at the National War Memorial, wounding a soldier, then moved to nearby Parliament Hill and wounded a security guard before he was shot, reportedly by Parliament's sergeant-at-arms.

The Hill remains under lockdown amid reports there may be two to three shooters, according to a senior official locked in the Official Opposition Leaders' office.

Conservative MP Bob Zimmer has tweeted that a gunman was shot and killed, but that report was not immediately verified by police.

Two sources told The Canadian Press that Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms for the House of Commons, shot an assailant.

The gunman reportedly ran towards Parliament Hill, which is currently under lockdown and surrounded by security.

Cabinet minister Tony Clement tweeted that at least 30 shots were heard inside the building, where Conservative and Liberal MPs were holding their weekly caucus meetings.

Most of those MPs remain locked down in their caucus rooms.

The NDP caucus was evacuated along with the Liberal Senate caucus.

A witness reported that a man drove up in a black vehicle, got out carrying a rifle and ran into the Centre Block — the seat of the House of Commons under the Peace Tower.

The man was dressed in black with a scarf wrapped around his face.

Witnesses reported hearing shots fired in several different corridors. Some people fled the building by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations.


Original story Oct 22, 7:15

A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa has been shot by an unknown gunman and there have been reports of gunfire inside the halls of Parliament.

Ottawa police confirmed they had a call at 9:52 a.m. with a report of shots fired.

Witnesses reported seeing the gunman running towards Parliament Hill, which is currently under lockdown. Others on the Hill say they heard shots being fired in several different corridors.

Tory MP Bob Zimmer has tweeted that the gunman was shot and killed, but that report could not be immediately verified.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was rushed away from the building to an undisclosed location, officials in his office said.

It is caucus morning on the Hill, meaning most MPs are in the Centre Block.

Police cars and emergency vehicles are clustered at the foot of the Peace Tower and the Centre Block is being evacuated.

Chuck Bronley of Ottawa said he was near the memorial when he heard four shots and saw a man running away carrying a rifle.

A tourist from the Netherlands was also nearby when he heard four shots, and saw an armed man with long, dark hair fleeing.

Police were yelling at bystanders, shouting that there was still a shooter on the loose.

"DND member is down," one officer was overheard saying.

Bronley was fairly certain the victim was one of the ceremonial guards at the War Memorial.

Two people vigorously pumped the victim's chest on the stairs of the War Memorial, until the victim was finally placed on a stretcher and ushered into an ambulance shortly after 10 a.m.

Paramedics performed CPR on the soldier before he was taken away by ambulance

The incident comes just two days after two Canadian soldiers were run over — and one of them killed — in Quebec by a man with jihadist sympathies.



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