OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Today’s shooting in Ottawa comes a day after Canada had raised its domestic terror threat level from low to medium.
Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, a spokesman for the country’s public safety minister, said yesterday that the threat level was raised because of what he called “an increase in general chatter from radical Islamist organizations.”
Today, a gunman shot a Canadian soldier standing guard at a war memorial in Ottawa and then entered Parliament, where numerous shots were heard.
The shooting took place two days after a Canadian man who recently converted to Islam killed one Canadian soldier and injured another in a hit-and-run before being shot to death by police.
The killer had been on the radar of federal investigators who feared that he had jihadist ambitions. They had seized his passport when he tried to travel to Turkey.
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137-r-16-(Sound of gunfire inside Canada’s Parliament building, as officers exchanged gunfire and ran with guns drawn, from video provided by Globe and Mail reporter)–Sound of loud gunfire inside Canada’s Parliament building, as officers with guns drawn ran forward. COURTESY: The Globe and Mail ((mandatory on-air credit)) (22 Oct 2014)
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146-c-17-(Rita Foley, AP correspondent)-“threat to Canadians”-AP correspondent Rita Foley reports Canada had just gone on higher alert, when a gunman opened fire in Ottawa. (22 Oct 2014)
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APPHOTO JDT109: Police teams enter Centre Block at Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct. 22, 2014. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot by an unknown gunman and people reported hearing gunfire inside the halls of Parliament. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was rushed away from Parliament Hill to an undisclosed location, according to officials. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Justin Tang) (22 Oct 2014)
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