2014 shootings at Parliament Hill, Ottawa

The 2014 shootings at Parliament Hill, Ottawa were shootings that took place on October 22, 2014 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. A gunman shot and killed a Canadian Army soldier, Nathan Cirillo, who was on ceremonial guard duty just outside the Canadian National War Memorial. Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the shootings a "terrorist attack."

Shootings
Earlier, witnesses saw a man dressed in blue jeans and a black jacket with a head scarf arrive at the National War Memorial in a car, carrying a double-barreled shotgun. The man fired two shots and fatally wounded Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a Canadian Army reservist soldier, who was standing guard at the Memorial. After the gunman shot Cirillo, he carjacked a vehicle and drove 600 meters to Parliament Hill. Cirillo was later rushed to the hospital where he was reported dead.

The gunman entered the Canadian Parliament buildings through the Centre Block just under the Peace Tower and shot a security guard in the leg. There were then around 20 and 30 gunshots exchanged between the gunman and security. The gunman ran down the Hall of Honor to the entrance of the Library, which is beside the office of Kevin Vickers, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Canadian House of Commons. Vickers grabbed his handgun and went into the hall. He dropped to the ground and shot three times. The gunman was engaged by six officers. One of the shots fired by Constable Curtis Barrett hit the gunman in the head and killed him. 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and New Democratic Party Leader Thomas Mulcair were both holding caucus meetings in rooms that were on both sides of the shooter's path. The Prime Minister and some of the MPs were escorted out of the building while some of the others had barricaded themselves behind doors.

The gunman was later identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a 32-year-old Canadian man, who had a criminal record and had recently converted to Islam. His passport had been seized by the Canadian government because he had been labeled as a 'high-risk traveller'.

References

Category:2014 crimes in Canada
Category:Murder in 2014
Category:2010s murders in Canada
Category:Murders by firearm
Category:October 2014 events
Category:Ottawa
Category:Terrorist incidents in the 2010s