OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada’s Parliament remains under close surveillance by police, and it is closed to the public today.
This, a day after a gunman shot and killed a soldier at the nearby National War Memorial and then entered the Parliament building, where the gunfire continued before he was shot and killed. The Parliament’s sergeant-at-arms is being credited with shooting the gunman and preventing more bloodshed.
Security has been beefed up at government buildings across Canada.
This was the second attack this week to take the life of a soldier in Canada — and both are being described as terrorism by the country’s prime minister. The attacks are raising concerns in Canada that the country is being targeted for joining the U.S.-led air campaign against the extremist Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
Police initially believed that there might be as many as three gunmen involved in the attack. But today, they say they are convinced that the gunman acted alone.
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121-a-04-(British Columbia MP Nathan Cullen, in AP interview)-“that’s somehow increased”-British Columbia Member of Parliament Nathan Cullen says Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms who shot the gunman, deserves the utmost respect and admiration. (23 Oct 2014)
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028-v-36-(Warren Levinson, AP correspondent)–Canadian authorities are looking for answers after a gunman attacked the halls of Parliament. AP correspondent Warren Levinson reports. (23 Oct 2014)
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APPHOTO SKP206: Parliament staffers wait to enter Centre Block on Parliament Hill in the House of Commons on Thursday Oct. 23, 2014 in Ottawa. Michael Zehaf Bibeau fatally shot reservist Cpl. Nathan Cirillo on Wednesday, at the National War Memorial before setting his sights on Parliament Hill. Bibeau was killed just feet from where hundreds of MPs were meeting for their weekly caucus meetings. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick) (23 Oct 2014)
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APPHOTO PMP105: A soldier at The Lieutenant-Colonel John Weir Foote Armoury in Hamilton, Ontario locks the gates after allowing another soldier to enter on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014. Outside the gates a makeshift memorial continues to grow for Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was shot dead at the National War Memorial by Michael Zehaf Bibeau on Wednesday. Bibeau was killed in Parliament Hill, just feet from where hundreds of MPs were meeting for their weekly caucus meetings. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Peter Power) (23 Oct 2014)
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