Gunmen open fire at Canadian Parliament building; soldier down, 1 shooter possibly on loose
Published October 22, 2014
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Now Playing Report: One gunman dead in Ottawa parliament shootings
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Multiple gunmen stormed the Canadian Parliament complex Wednesday, shooting at least one soldier and spraying as many as 30 shots inside the government building in Ottawa and leaving the nation's capital on virtual lockdown just two days after a terror attack in Quebec, officials said.
The shots rang out just before 10 a.m., and were quickly followed by reports of "several shooting incidents in downtown Ottawa," according to a tweet from police. The shooting at the government complex came after witnesses said they saw two men jump out of a Toyota Corolla and run toward the National War Memorial, where one opened fire on a soldier, officials told the Ottawa Sun. The gunmen then ran to the Parliament building, where witnesses later said they saw one gunman down near the library. Bernard Trottier, a Toronto-area MP, tweeted that the gunman inside Centre Block "has been shot and killed.” The other was reportedly being sought.
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Veteran Affairs Minister Julian Fantino told QMI Agency that Parliament’s sergeant-at-arms, Kevin Vickers, shot one gunman dead.
“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,” Fantino said from inside Centre Block. “He did a great job and, from what I know, shot the gunman and he is now deceased.”
"Most of downtown Ottawa is in lockdown."- Ottawa police Constable Marc Soucy.
More shootings were reported less than a mile away from Parliament Hill, near Rideau Centre Mall, but police did not know if the incidents were related and said no arrests had been made.
"Most of downtown Ottawa is in lockdown," said Ottawa police Constable Marc Soucy.
Ottawa police confirmed they were pursuing multiple shooters, but there were conflicting reports of how many were involved in the attack on nerve center of Canada’s federal government.
“We are still trying to clarify how many persons we are dealing with, and still waiting for the status of the victim who was shot at the War memorial,” says Ottawa Police Service spokesman Constable Chuck Benoit.
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Medics attended to a soldier who was shot while guarding the National War Memorial. (AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was whisked away to a safe location as Royal Canadian Mounted Police converged on the complex.
Harper “is safe and has left Parliament Hill,” Jason MacDonald, his director of communications, said via Twitter. Harper cancelled a trip to Toronto, where he was to present education activist Malala Yousafzai, of Pakistan with honorary Canadian citizenship. MacDonald said Harper was being briefed and would make a statement later Wednesday.
The Ottawa Sun identified the guard, who was taken to Civic Hospital, as Hamilton Argylls.
Witnesses told the Globe and Mail the Parliament Hill building was locked down and police ordered journalists to shelter in the foyer in front of the House of Commons. Members of Parliament also took cover in the building, tweeting from inside the building.
Michelle Rempel, a Conservative MP from Calgary, used Twitter to communicate with the outside world: “Mom im okay Im in hiding,” tweeted Michelle Rempel, a Conservative MP from Calgary.
Another MP, Democrat Hélène Laverdière, told CBC that she heard to 20 to 30 shots and hit the floor.
“There are currently active shooters in the Parliament Hill vicinity,” read an email sent out to the Prime Minister’s staff, according to Canada.com.
At the memorial, emergency responders were seen performing CPR on the shooting victim, believed to be one of the soldiers stationed around the clock at the memorial, Canada.com reported. The soldier's name and condition were not available.
The drama unfolded just before 10 a.m., two days after two Canadian soldiers were run over -- and one of them killed -- in Quebec by a man with jihadist sympathies. And on Tuesday, Canada had raised its domestic terror level from low to medium due to "an increase in general chatter from radical Islamist organizations like ISIL, Al Qaeda, al-Shabab and others who pose a clear threat to Canadians," said Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, a spokesman for the public safety minister.
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The Ottawa complex houses Canada's federal government. (AP)
Scott Walsh, who was working on Parliament Hill, told CBC that he saw a man running with a double-barreled shotgun, wearing a scarf and blue jeans. Walsh said the man hopped over the fence that surrounded Parliament Hill and forced someone out of their car, then drove to the front doors of the Parliament building and fired at least two shots.
A Canadian official told Fox News witnesses described one of the suspects as having long, dark curly hair and a tan complexion and said he was wearing a white bandana and white hoodie. They said there was no license plate on the Toyota Corolla.
Public buildings near Parliament, including Ottawa City Hall, the University of Ottawa and primary schools were locked down. The Rideau Centre Mall, a block from the war memorial, was also locked down, although a spokeswoman said no shooting occurred inside.
["Ottawa Police] asked us to lock down," she said in an e-mail to the Globe and Mail. "We did. We have no further comment.”
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said "our thoughts and prayers are with those injured.”
“As with all Ottawa residents and all Canadians, I am shocked and saddened by what has happened in the last hour here in the nation’s capital,” he said in a statement. |
