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Ottawa shooting: police confirm only one gunman as parliament re-opens Ottawa shooting: police confirm only one gunman as parliament re-opens
(35 minutes later)
Canadian police have confirmed there was only a single gunman involved in a brazen gun attack on the national parliament on Wednesday that left a soldier dead. Canadian police confirmed on Thursday that the assault on the country’s national parliament was carried out by a lone gunman, as prime minister Stephen Harper led tributes to the solider killed in the attack and to the ceremonial official who prevented a bigger tragedy.
Ottawa police said that they are satisfied there was one attacker, and police chief Charles Bordeleau told CBC that there is no longer a threat to public safety. Ottawa police said that they were satisfied there was one attacker, and police chief Charles Bordeleau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that there was no longer a threat to public safety.
Police said in the initial hours after the shootings that as many as two other gunmen may have taken part. But as the day wore on, it appeared increasingly likely that the attack was the work of one person. As a shocked nation digested the aftermath of the shootings, Harper laid a wreath at the tomb honoring Canada’s fallen soldiers, where Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot corporal Nathan Cirillo on Wednesday morning before storming into the nearby parliament building and opening fire inside.
The mother of the shooting suspect Michael Zehaf-Bibeau has told the Associated Press that she is crying for the victims of the shooting, not for her son. “Can you ever explain something like this?” Susan Bibeau said. “We are sorry.” Police initially speculated that the attack was the work of more than one gunman. But it became apparent during the day that Zehaf-Bibeau was the only protagonist. His mother told the Associated Press that she is crying for the victims of the shooting, not for her son. “Can you ever explain something like this?” Susan Bibeau said. “We are sorry.”
Zehaf-Bibeau shot a Canadian solider at the national war memorial on Wednesday then forced his way into Ottawa’s parliament building in a hail of gunfire before being killed by a ceremonial official. It was the second time in two days that the country’s security forces had confronted an attack on the streets: on Monday a man described by authorities as having been radicalised ran down a soldier with his car in Quebec. It was the second time in two days that the country’s security forces had confronted an attack on the streets: on Monday a man described by authorities as having been radicalised ran down a soldier with his car in Quebec.
The Canadian government was determined to return to business as usual on Thursday, with the House of Commons opening as usual at 10am local time. The Canadian government returned to business as usual on Thursday, with the House of Commons opening as usual at 10am local time. Parliamentarians stood and clapped in a prolonged ovation to Kevin Vickers, the House of Commons sergeant-at-arms who shot and killed Zehaf-Bibeau before he was able to claim any more victims. Adjacent rooms were packed with MPs, including Harper and the Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, at the time of the attack.
“This sends a clear message of Canada’s resolve to maintain its free and democratic way of life,” House speaker Andrew Scheer said in a statement. As Vickers walked into the House of Commons his lips quivered in emotion. Harper opened the session in personal terms, urging MPs to seek medical help if they were suffering from stress in the aftermath of the attack. “Here we are in our seats, in our chamber in the very heart of our democracy, at work” Harper said. “We will not be intimated.”
Before the opening session, Harper joined members of parliament and Ottowa residents outside to pay respects to Cirillo, a 24-year-old reservist from Hamilton, Ontario, who was serving as a ceremonial guard to the national war memorial on Wednesday.
The solemn moment was interrupted by shouting and the screech of tires. A man had attempted to breach the security gates, said Constable Chuck Benoit, a spokesman for the Ottawa Police. He said the man was immediately detained and arrested. It is unclear why the man tried to enter the area, and it was uncertain at whether he would face charges, Benoit said.
The interruption caused a ripple of fear in the crowds. “Not again,” a man carrying flowers said quietly to the woman standing with him. When it was clear there was no threat, the crowd eased and the attention turned back to Harper.
Wearing a poppy on his lapel and carrying a bouquet of flowers, lifelong Ottawa resident and former reservist Stephen Miller said he came to the memorial to show to the world that Canadians will not live in fear.
“Like a lot of Canadians, I’m devastaed by what has happened, but I also want to show resolve that we’re not going to be defeated by this,” he said. “That are our society is not going to be terrorised by these extremists, people that have extreme views and want to change our society for the worse.”
He said he hoped the response would be measured: anything resembling a “police state” would be the antithesis of the freedom and openness for which Canada is known, he said.
Stephani Basi, who works for at a government agency on Parliament Hill , was a dentist appointment when the shooting happened on Wednesday. She was unnerved that an attacker with a gun could get so close to the prime minister.
“We’re only as safe as the leader of our country,” she said. “And I think we have a responsibility to ensure his security to ensure security.” Basi said she would welcome enhanced security measures, especially around the capital.
Investigators are still trying to piece together the events of Wednesday. They are also trying to learn more about the attacker, Zehaf-Bibeau. Few details have emerged about the 32-year-old man who appears to have a criminal record for petty crime.
The Globe and Mail newspaper said authorities had recently designated him a “high-risk traveller”, meaning it was feared he would commit crimes abroad, and that his passport had been seized. A similar designation had been made for the perpetrator of Monday’s attack in Quebec, Martin Couture-Rouleau, 25. Both were said to have been converts to Islam.
The flag flying over parliament’s Centre Block, where the gunman had burst in on Wednesday morning, was at half mast. The Queen – Canada’s head of state – sent her condolences, saying she was “shocked and saddened” by the attack.The flag flying over parliament’s Centre Block, where the gunman had burst in on Wednesday morning, was at half mast. The Queen – Canada’s head of state – sent her condolences, saying she was “shocked and saddened” by the attack.
Tensions in Ottawa were underscored when police arrested a man at gunpoint just steps from Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, while he was laying a wreath at the national war memorial to commemorate Canadian soldier Nathan Cirillo, who was shot at the site by Zehaf-Bibeau. Ottawa police said the man was arrested for “disturbing the crime scene”.
“He crossed the tape. We told him not to. He didn’t listen,” said a police officer at the scene.
On Wednesday evening Harper vowed a tough and uncompromising response to the attack.
“This week’s events are a grim reminder that Canada is not immune to the types of terrorist attacks we have seen elsewhere around the world,” Harper said in his address to the nation. “We are also reminded that attacks on our security personnel and our institutions of governance are by their very nature attacks on our country, on our values, on our society, on us Canadians as a free and democratic people who embrace human dignity for all. But let there be no misunderstanding. We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated.”
The attack began just before 10am on Wednesday when Zehaf-Bibeau emerged from a car and opened fire on the ceremonial guard of Ottawa’s war memorial, across from the parliament buildings. Cirillo was hit as he stood guard over the tomb commemorating soldiers killed in battle. Amid the chaos, medics and bystanders battled to save the soldier’s life before he was taken to hospital by ambulance. Cirillo died from his wounds shortly afterwards.
From there the attacker made his way across the street on to the front lawn of parliament. It remains unclear how the he made his way past the armed guards protecting the building but he got as far as the ornate Hall of Honour, before being shot dead by Kevin Vickers, the House of Commons sergeant-at-arms. Vickers, a former officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was widely praised for his swift action that brought an end to the attack.
That Zehaf-Bibeau was able to make his way to parliament and into the central building after killing a soldier in broad daylight has raised concern about whether Canada has been naive in its preparations for such an attack.
The Globe and Mail newspaper said authorities had recently designated him a “high-risk traveller”, meaning it was feared he would commit crimes abroad, and that his passport had been seized. A similar designation had been made for the perpetrator of Monday’s attack in Quebec, Martin Couture-Rouleau, 25.