UPDATE: The Parliment Buildings are no longer on lockdown in Ottawa. Soldier murdered appears to have been shot in the back. He was Corp Nathan Cerillo, a father of a young kindergarden aged son.
The long gunfire in the parliment building which has cathedral ceilings was hugely amplified and terrifying to those in the building. Four others were injured and taken to the hospital, one a security guard.
The top security officer of the Parliment, Kevin Vickers, who killed the gunman in the Parliment building, is a white haired man, who appeared usually and formally in the Parliment, dressed in the white multi-cravats and black longcoat looks a bit like a judge rather than a police officer.
Reports from CNN re Ottawa are that police and soldiers are actively hunting for two other shooters around the Parliment area. We do not know if this is anecdotal witness material, or eyewitness from reliable witnesses.
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Ottawa, dateline, 1:25 PM MST Lockdown of Parliment ongoing now. The buildings were full for today is Caucus day, meaning all MPs and others were in gatherings, full house.
Two incidents of shootings…
Though I doubt we will know for certain what unfolded until more hours have passed, it appears a gunman ambushed and killed a soldier on duty who was ‘honor walking’ the perimeters of the fallen soldier war memorial –and then the gunman entered the Canadian Parliment building where several dozen gunshots were heard… many Parlimentarians [MPs and others} and staff and visitors are still trapped in the lockdown and some were able to escape by breaking windows and climbing down scaffolding with the aid of others outside.
Kevin Vickers is Sgt at Arms of Parliment, that is, top cop on Hill, He is in charge of unarmed security guards and armed guards, and apparently Kevin, also with his years in Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is the man who in the language of enforcement, ‘neutralized the threat.’
Not clear if there is more than one gunman, lone jackal or more than one. Motive not yet clear.
The FBI in the US is alerted and there is extra security put in place in the Capitol, including Arlington National Cemetery, considered sacred ground with the Tomb of the Unknown[s] Soldier[s].