14 DAY TRIAL // Canada has gone through some tough times yesterday, with a gunman fatally wounding a Canadian Forces member at the National War Memorial and sending several other people to the emergency room before being shot dead.
CBC reports that the attacker shot and killed soldier Nathan Cirillo, 24, a reservist from Hamilton, who was sitting at his post by the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. Moments after the first shot was fired, the man entered the main Parliament building, where witnesses and members of the Parliament reported that some 30 to 50 shots were fired.
The gunman was later shot inside the building by the House of Commons sergeant-at-arms and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). It seems that the man’s name was Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, born in Canada in 1982.
CBC News reports that the man has a criminal record in Quebec from ten years ago due to some drug-related charges. He also had a criminal record in British Columbia, where he was convicted in 2012 for various threats. Zehaf-Bibeau served one day in jail for his offences.
Terrorists won’t intimidate Canada
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that Canada would not be intimidated by the brutal and violent attack in Ottawa and offered his condolences for Cirillo’s family and for the family of Patrice Vincent, another soldier who lost his life in an attack earlier this week.
“For the second time this week, there has been a brutal and violent attack on our soil. But let there be no misunderstanding – we will not be intimidated, Canada will never be intimidated,” he said.
Harper added that in the days to come, more will be learnt about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had. The government wants to keep Canada safe and “fight against terrorist organizations that are brutalizing so many people around the world in the hope of keeping their savagery from reaching our shores.”
The national terrorism alert level in Canada had already been raised following the incident from Monday when Patrice Vincent was murdered in a hit-and-run by a man suspected to have been a radicalized jihadist.
Police would not say whether they had any other suspects related to the incident that took place on Wednesday, resuming to saying that there is no one in custody at the time. Gilles Michaud, RCMP Assistant Commissioner, said that there was no forewarning of the attack and that it had caught them by surprise. The Parliament had a medium level of security, which hadn’t changed in the past few days, indicating that they had no knowledge of a theat.
Four people were taken to the hospital, among them the soldier who died, as well as three who suffered minor injuries, including a parliamentary security guard who was shot in the foot.