Chris Wattie/Reuters

Government buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, are on lockdown Wednesday morning as police continue to search for a suspect after a series of shootings in the heart of the capital. One member of the Canadian Armed Force was killed, as was one of the gunman. A parliamentary guard was also shot in the leg. Neither of the deceased have been identified by police, at this time, no one is in custody and this has been deemed an "ongoing joint police operation" and "fluid."

The incident began after a shooter opened fire just before 10 a.m. EDT, killing one military officer. Reports indicate the Canadian military member who was standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near the National War Memorial. He was taken to the hospital with injuries, where he later died. Two other patients were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition. Major General Christopher Coates noted that while the identity of the military member was known, the suspect was “unknown.”

Police officers arrived quickly to lock down Parliament, asking anyone remaining in the building and surrounding area to lay on the ground as authorities search the building. The CBC reports dozens of soldiers are patrolling the exterior of the building.

An eyewitness told The Globe and Mail that the shooter “got away” after the first shooting at the Memorial, and described the suspect as having long, dark hair. Another eyewitness told the CBC that the shooter is male, tall, thin, wearing a black-and-white headscarf, and carrying a long gun. Police did not confirm or deny if they were able to retrieve a weapon.

The suspect's car remained on site throughout the morning, parked at the entrance of the War Memorial. It did not have license plates. A third witness believed that there are two suspects, one wearing a long brown coat with black hair and a bandana, and a second who stayed in the car. At 10:53 a.m., a reporter for the CBC was told that gunmen were on the roof of a building on Parliament Hill with "brandished weapons." That reporter also noted that there is a heavily wooded area near Parliament Hill, and at least one gunman appeared to be moving east away from the shooting location. At a police briefing later in the day, the Ottawa Police Service did not confirm if another suspect was still on the loose, noting only that this is an ongoing investigation, and therefore they could not disclose details in regards to a potential additional gunman. Officers urged citizens to call a hotline if they observed anything unusual over the coming days.

"We were standing nearby the monuments, we were waiting there for a city tour and I heard four [rapid] shots," that witness told the CBC. "Suddenly I saw a small guy with long black hair, looked like a Native American to me, and he ran away after the shots toward Parliament Hill. Then I saw some military running to the monuments then to Parliament Hill chasing the man." This witness confirmed that the shooter targeted a monument guard and that the gun was quite long.

Others report indicate that there were as many as 30 to 40 shots; however, this could be due to an exchanging of gunfire with police. In a video taken from inside the Parliament Hill building obtained by The Globe and Mail, roughly 24 shots are heard. "The video has too many shots to determine the type of weapon. Not unlikely it is a rifle though," a member of the Canadian military told me on the condition of anonymity. "You don't pre-plan an attack like this with only a pistol effective at a range of 50 meters."

Just before noon, it was reported that another shooting was reported across the river from Parliament Hill at the Rideau Centre Mall. However, during a police briefing at 2 p.m., police said that a shooting did not occur at this location. An employee at Kiehl's, a shop within the mall, who answered the phone said they were calm and listening to the news.