UPDATE: Day of chaos in the capital leaves soldier and terrorist dead

Updates at 11 p.m.

• 9:02 p.m.: O’Connor, Metcalfe streets closed from Queen to Wellington; and Wellington from Bank to Sussex for investigation

• Soldier killed in War Memorial confirmed as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo

• Suspect Canadian-born Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, killed in Centre Block shootout

• ‘Canada will never be intimidated,’ Prime Minister Harper tells nation

• 10:43 p.m.: Speaker confirms House of Commons will sit at 10 a.m. Thursday

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The stone halls of Parliament Hill echoed with gunfire and were stained with blood Wednesday as a terrorist struck at the heart of the federal government after gunning down a sentry at the National War Memorial.

The gunman was shot and killed near the Library of Parliament, according to Ottawa police sources, by House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, a former RCMP officer and the man responsible for security on the Hill.

A witness said the gunman, carrying the rifle at his hip, walked deliberately up the west ramp of Centre Block and through the main doors of Parliament as bystanders cowered. It was just before 10 a.m.

The gunman walked right past the Centre Block’s Reading Room — where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was meeting with the Conservative caucus — before being confronted and shot.

The dead gunman has been identified as Canadian-born Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, a man who had lived in Aylmer, Montreal and Vancouver, and had a criminal record for relatively minor offences in all cities.

On Wednesday night, there was a report that Canadian police were rounding up ISIL recruits.

The fatal showdown in Centre Block followed the cold-blooded slaying of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a 24-year-old reservist standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a short distance from Parliament Hill. The sentries’ rifles are not loaded.

The ceremonial guard at the memorial normally ends on Labour Day but was extended this year because of important anniversaries connected to the First and Second World Wars.

It was the second fatal attack on a Canadian soldier in a week, a shocking turn that has raised questions about whether homegrown radicals are now answering calls for terror attacks in this country.

In a televised address to the nation Wednesday night, Prime Minister Stephen Harper labelled the incidents “despicable attacks” and linked them to international terrorism. “In the days to come, we will learn more about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had,” Harper said. “But this week’s events are a grim reminder that Canada is not immune to the types of terrorist attacks we have seen elsewhere around the world.”

He vowed that the nation will not be intimidated, nor will it back down from its commitment to wage war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“Canada will never be intimidated,” he repeated. “In fact, this will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts.”

Speaking after Harper, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said the attack was intended to make Canadians “more fearful of their neighbours and less confident in ourselves.”

However, “Today’s events have instead only succeeded in drawing us closer and making us stronger,” he said.

Witnesses said Cpl. Cirillo, a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, based in Hamilton, was shot twice at close range in front of the War Memorial at 9:52 a.m. He was rushed to The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic Campus but did not survive his injuries.

Click to hear raw audio: Dispatchers’, paramedics’ first response.
Witnesses said the gunman ran toward Parliament Hill after the shooting; some said he climbed into a parked car on Wellington Street, north of the War Memorial. Others said he commandeered a black Chrysler in front of the East Block and drove it to the base of the Peace Tower.

It remained unclear for most of Wednesday whether Zehaf-Bibeau was acting alone or if other shooters were also involved.

But late in the day, Ottawa police sources told the Citizen that their working theory is that Zehaf-Bibeau was a lone gunman. Police also confirmed that the gunman used a rifle, not a shotgun, in his attack.

Earlier in the day there had been reports of another shooting near the Rideau Centre mall, but those proved to be false.

NDP press secretary Greta Levy said she was about to walk down the stairs beneath the Peace Tower just before 10 a.m. when she saw two women in front of her take cover. Someone — she thinks it was a security guard — yelled, “Get down!” Somebody else shouted, “Gun!” Levy said she went to the ground, then pulled her head up from the crook of her elbow.

“That’s when I saw him walk up the ramp,” she told the Citizen. “As soon as I saw the gun, I put my head back down.”

Zehaf-Bibeau was coming up the west ramp, carrying a rifle at hip level with both hands. He passed right in front of Levy, who had just left the NDP’s caucus meeting. “He was not running,” she said of the gunman, but walking with purpose. He didn’t say a word.

Inside Parliament Hill, Zehaf-Bibeau walked into Centre Block where the NDP and Conservative caucuses had convened for 9:15 a.m. meetings. The Liberal caucus was meeting in the basement.

Harper was with his party’s caucus when the gunman entered the second floor of Centre Block, but was escorted to safety by his RCMP security team.

Across the hall, in the NDP caucus room, about 100 MPs and aides piled tables and chairs in front of the doors after they heard gunshots crash through Centre Block.

“A series of gunshots rang out and we realized they were right on the other side of the door,” NDP MP Charlie Angus told the Citizen.

Parliament Hill security officers rushed politicians out of the building, Liberal MP Marc Garneau among them. “You could smell the gunpowder,” Garneau said.

Security officers pursued the gunman into the Hall of Honour, near the Library of Parliament, and exchanged a hail of gunfire.

Vickers fired the shots that killed Zehaf-Bibeau, according to Ottawa police sources. Another guard was wounded in the confrontation.
A video shot by Globe and Mail reporter Josh Wingrove showed crouching RCMP officers moving through the main hall toward the Parliamentary library, as the hallway echoed with gunfire.

“I am safe and profoundly grateful to Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers and our security forces for selfless act of keeping us safe,” Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino said on Twitter.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay offered similar praise: “Thank God for Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers and our Canadian security forces.”

An injured guard was also taken to The Ottawa Hospital with a non-life threatening leg injury, apparently suffered when he attempted to wrest the rifle from Zehaf-Bibeau. That guard has been identified as Samearn Son, a House of Commons constable, who was unarmed. His colleagues are calling him a hero.

The Ottawa Hospital also treated two other people who suffered minor injuries in the attack. All of the injured were later released from hospital.

—CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE —

The attack is the most serious security breach of Parliament Hill since 1966, when an unhinged man, Paul Chartier, tried to blow up 10 sticks of dynamite on the floor of the House of Commons. He killed only himself when the explosives detonated before he could throw them.

Wednesday’s shooting at the National War Memorial represents the second time this week that a Canadian soldier has come under attack on national soil.

On Monday, 25-year-old Martin Rouleau of Saint-Jean-sur-Richeleau, southeast of Montreal, used his car to ram two Canadian soldiers, one of whom later died of his wounds. Rouleau was a convert to Islam whose online postings had become so radical that the RCMP had confiscated his passport.

There is speculation the attacks are a reaction from homegrown extremists to the federal government’s decision to join the international coalition battling ISIL in the Middle East. Parliament approved a motion to launch a combat mission against ISIL earlier this month.

An ISIL spokesman has called for attacks on Canadians.

Wednesday’s attack began on the grounds of the National War Memorial, a site dedicated to all of those who have fought and died for this country.

Witnesses said the long-haired gunman, dressed in a dark hoodie, blue jeans and wrapped in a scarf, opened fire on one of the two guards. The gunman used a long rifle from close range.

Raivo Nommik, a lighting designer, was walking past the memorial when the shots were fired: “The soldier was shot at close range: It couldn’t have been more than 20 feet.”

Construction worker Matthew Blais was working near the East Block when he heard what he described as a “bunch of pops.”

“I looked over at the War Memorial and I saw a man with a rifle shooting at innocent people,” Blais said. “We ducked for cover.”

Tourist Jan Lugtenborg, of the Netherlands, said he was waiting near the memorial for a tour bus. “Then all of a sudden this happens: I heard four shots. I thought it was a firework,” he said. “We were scared like hell so we ran back.”

Blais said he saw the man jump into a car. “He parked right in front of Parliament and ran into the building,” he said.

The NDP’s Angus described the wild scene inside the party’s caucus room after the first shots were fired on the Hill.

“Security came in fairly fast — I was surprised how fast they came — and I could see from the look in their eyes that they were very worried. We know them. We talk to them every day. They wanted us out of that building.”

Angus found himself with a group of MPs ushered outside through the main doors and then to the Promenade Building on Sparks Street. Others scattered into underground corridors.

“This is a place we feel welcome, secure and natural,” he said. “We didn’t know what else was going on but with police and army rushing past us we realized we were still in the middle of a firefight.”

One woman threw open a second-storey Centre Block window and prepared to jump before construction workers found a ladder and helped her to safety.

Liberal MP John McKay was about to head into the Liberal caucus room on the first floor when he heard popping sounds inside the Parliament buildings.

“I didn’t think anything of it: I thought it was construction,” he said. “And then the security guards come and say, ‘Up! Everybody up! Everybody out!'”

The Liberal MPs were sent out a back door and told to hide behind some statues because security officials were worried that shots could come from Centre Block windows. “We huddled there for a while and then by some means or other we got the all-clear and came down off Parliament Hill,” said McKay.

Police set up roadblocks at all bridges, including the Champlain Bridge to the west of downtown, and checked all cars leaving Ontario.

Meanwhile, helicopters circled downtown and police snipers took up positions on the roof of the National Gallery of Canada.

Security officers told workers in downtown buildings to remain in their offices.

City Hall, the Ottawa courthouse, Lisgar Collegiate and the University of Ottawa were among the many institutions that went into emergency lockdown. The NHL postponed an Ottawa Senators game scheduled for Wednesday night and the National Arts Centre cancelled two performances.

After paralyzing much of downtown Ottawa, the security lockdown that had kept politicians, aides and civil servants confined to their offices was finally lifted at 8:30 p.m.

At an afternoon news conference, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud, commanding officer of the force’s national division, said security on Parliament Hill had been operating at a “medium” level — the same level that has been in place for years. There was no inkling, he said, that an attack was imminent. “If we had known this was coming, we would have been able to disrupt it.”

Ontario’s Minister of Community Safety, Yasir Naqvi, told reporters that he was informed late last week that the federal government was considering an elevation of its national threat level. “I was also informed at the time that there was no specific or imminent threat posed,” the Ottawa Centre MPP said.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson asked citizens to think about the slain soldier, Cpl. Cirillo. “Today is a sad and tragic day for our city and our country,” he said. “I’m sure I speak for all residents of our city when I extend my heartfelt condolences to the individual who lost his life this morning while standing guard at the National War Memorial in the heart of downtown Ottawa.”

Wednesday’s unprecedented attack on Parliament Hill occurred as Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney was preparing to present new anti-terrorism legislation.

The government intends to amend the CSIS Act in two ways. One measure would let CSIS work more closely with its allies in the “Five Eyes” spy network, which is made up of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. A second measure would give CSIS informants the same anonymity that already exists for police sources, who are not subject to cross-examination and can have their identities hidden, even from trial judges.

The handful of modern terrorist incidents and major security breaches in Ottawa have largely occurred against foreign embassies and individual diplomats.

There are believed to be more than 200 exterior security cameras monitoring the perimeters of all federal buildings. The Hill is also guarded by vehicular barricades and an undisclosed number of uniformed and plainclothes RCMP officers and Commons and Senate security staff. An RCMP Emergency Response Team is believed to be stationed within striking distance.

Speaker Andrew Scheer said the House of Commons will be sitting Thursday at 10 a.m., as scheduled.

“This sends a clear message of Canada’s resolve to maintain its free and democratic way of life,” he said in a statement.

British Prime Minister David Cameron was among the first world leaders to issue a public statement about Wednesday’s attack.

“I’m appalled by today’s attack in Ottawa,” he wrote on Twitter. “I offer my full support to Prime Minister Harper and the Canadian people as they deal with this incident.”

U.S. President Barack Obama offered his condolences to Cpl. Cirillo’s family and to the Canadian people. “Obviously we’re all shaken by it, but we’re going to do everything we can to make sure we’re standing side by side with Canada during this time,” he said. “Not only is Canada one of our closest allies in the world, but they’re our neighbours and friends.”

U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman said he was saddened by news of the attack. “The U.S. government condemns this heinous attack, as well as the attack against the Canadian Forces member killed in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu earlier this week,” he said. “We deplore acts of violence toward military, government and law-enforcement officials and stand ready to assist our Canadian partners as they investigate this event.”

NDP MP Murray Rankin said he expects Parliament Hill will not be as accessible to Canadians in the future in light of Wednesday’s events. “We cannot eliminate risk,” he said. “But we can take prudent steps to minimize the risk. Yes, there will be changes.”

aduffy@ottawacitizen.com

With files from Blair Crawford, Shaamini Yogaretnam, Meghan Hurley, Jordan Press, Lee Berthiaume, Mark Kennedy, Tom Spears, Chris Cobb, Don Butler, Elizabeth Payne, David Reevely, Carys Mills, Michael Woods, Joanne Chianello, Vito Pilieci, Jason Fekete and Dylan Robertson.