Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the perpetrator of a “brutal and violent” attack on the Parliament Hill complex in Ottawa that left a soldier dead Wednesday as a “terrorist” in an address to the nation.
The Parliament Hill, seat of democracy in Canada, is about a kilometer walk from the Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa, Canada.
“We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated,” Harper said before vowing that the attack would “lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts” to keep the country safe and work with Canada’s allies to fight terrorists.
A lone wolf fighter (Wikipedia) is someone who commits or prepares for, or is suspected of committing or preparing for, violent acts in support of some group, movement, or ideology, but who does so alone, outside of any command structure and without material assistance from any group
According to a report by FoxNews, The assault rocked Parliament over and over with the boom of gunfire, led MPs to barricade doors with chairs and sent people streaming from the building in fear. Harper was addressing a caucus when the attack began outside the door, but he safely escaped. He gave his address Wednesday evening from an undisclosed location.
Earlier Wednesday, Canadian authorities identified the shooter as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32. A government official reported that they have been advised that Zehaf-Bibeau, a Quebec native, was thought to be a recent convert to Islam who had changed his name from Michael Joseph Hall. Investigators offered little additional information about the gunman. However, Harper said in his address that “in the days to come we will learn about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had.”
Court records that appear to be the gunman’s show that he had a long rap sheet, with a string of convictions for assault, robbery, drug and weapons offenses, and other crimes.
The shooting, which triggered a lockdown of Canada’s capital, came just two days after a deadly hit-and-run terror attack targeting soldiers in Quebec by a man the Prime Minister referred to as an “ISIL-inspired terrorist.” That killer, also identified as a convert to Islam, had been on the radar of federal investigators, who feared he had jihadist ambitions and seized his passport when he tried to travel to Turkey.
Counter-terrorism investigators are reviewing Zehaf-Bibeau’s social media traffic and profile, with a focus on any link to Monday’s attack, which killed one soldier and injured another.
By Wednesday night, three persons who had been taken to Ottawa Hospital with minor injuries were all released.
Police said in the initial hours that as many as two other gunmen may have taken part in the attacks. But by late in the evening, the cordon around Parliament was lifted and police said there was no longer any threat to the public in the area.
“We’re still in the process of clearing Parliament Hill. It is a slow and methodical process,” Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau said Wednesday afternoon.
The shooting at the government complex came after witnesses said they saw at least one man jump out of a Toyota Corolla and run toward the memorial and open fire on the soldier, who later died at Civic Hospital. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation had video of the gunman going to his car alone with his weapon after the shooting at the memorial. The car was later spotted parked in front of Parliament Hill, just down the block.
After shooting the guard, the gunman ran to the Parliament building and unleashed a flurry of shots in the building, where witnesses later said they saw a man down near the library. Bernard Trottier, a Toronto-area MP, tweeted that the gunman inside Centre Block “has been shot and killed.”
