A soldier was shot dead on Wednesday by a terrorist at Ottawa’s war memorial near the parliament. The gunman raced then to attack the parliament building where Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was meeting with lawmakers.
The gunman was shot and killed in the parliament building by House of Commons Sergeant Kevin Vickers, responsible for security on the Parliament Hill.
A witness said that the gunman was carrying a rifle at this hip, walked deliberately to the main building and through the main doors of the parliament as bystanders cowered. He then passed right past the Reading Room where Stephen Harper was meeting with the Conservative caucus before being confronted and shot.
The terrorist has been identified as Michael Zehaf Bibeau, a Canadian citizen who 32-year-old. He was born to a Libyan father and a Canadian mother and has lived in Aylmer, Montreal and Vancouver and had a criminal record for minor offences in all three cities.
The police said on Thursday that Bibeau recently applied for a passport and was planning to go to Syria (according to Bibeau’s mother) after undergoing a “radicalization process.”
On Wednesday night, some sources suggested that all 90 Canadian suspects who joined or tried to join ISIS were being rounded up by the Canadian police. Bibeau was not on the list of high risk travelers.
The soldier who was shot by the Canadian terrorist is a 24-year-old reservist standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is a short distance away from the Parliament Hill.
This is the second fatal attack on a Canadian soldier in three days. Another Canadian soldier was killed by a Canadian citizen, identified as Martin Rouleau, in Quebec earlier this week. Rouleau was shot dead after he used his car to ram two Canadian soldiers, one of whom later died of his wounds.
The bloodshed raised fears that Canada is suffering reprisals for joining the US led air campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Some suggest that the attacks are a reaction from local extremists to Canada’s decision to join the international coalition against ISIS. ISIS militants have previously called for attacks on Canadians.
Addressing the nation on Wednesday night, Stephen Harper labelled the incidents “despicable attacks” and linked them to international terrorism. He insisted that Canada will not be intimidated, nor will it back down from its commitment to wage war against ISIS. He said: “Canada will never be intimidated. In fact, this will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts.” He also added that this week’s events are a reminder that Canada is not immune to these types of terrorist attacks seen elsewhere around the world.
Canada raised its national terror threat level from low to medium following the attack.
