CanadaCanada reflective, tense in wake of attack on parliament building

Canadians are still in shock today — the Globe and Mail’s healdine reads: “Attack on Ottawa: Brazen assault could be turning point for Canada” — at the realization that their country is not more immune to terrorist attacks than their neighbor to the south or fellow democracies across the Atlantic. There were acts of terrorism in  Canada in the past — mostly committed by Quebec separatists in the late 1960 and early 1970s — but yesterday’s attacks had a different feel to them.

“A gunman struck at the heart of the Canadian government…. in what was one of the most brazen attacks on a Western government in recent history,” the Globe and Mail wrote. The newspaper continued:

For a country that lived through more than a decade of Western anti-terror wars largely without domestic bloodshed, Wednesday’s attack was a potential turning point. It was the second targeted killing of a Canadian Forces soldier on home soil in a matter of days, raising further questions about the country’s security and intelligence regime, the rise of domestic radicalism and the impact of Canada’s military deployment to the Middle East to combat the Islamic State.

A lone gunman — Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a man in his early 30s who was known to Canadian authorities — shot a soldier dead at a national war memorial, than stormed into the house of parliament, firing an automatic weapon, before the House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers shot him dead.

As shots were heard in the building’s hallways, police instructed members of parliament and their staff to stay in their offices and use furniture to barricade the doors. Dozens of other parliamentarians and their staff were ushered out of the building under guard.

Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, who was in the building when the gunman began firing was ushered away from Parliament Hill and was safe, a spokesperson said.

Cabinet minister Tony Clement tweeted that at least thirty shots were heard inside parliament, where Conservative and Liberal MPs were holding their weekly Wednesday caucus meetings.

A member of parliament, Craig Scott, tweeted: “MPs and Hill staff owe their safety, even lives, to Sergeant at Arms Kevin Vickers who shot attacker just outside the MPs’ caucus rooms.”

The Guardian reports that Ottawa city center was emptied as some workers fled their offices while others were advised to lock themselves in and stay away from the windows. Squads of police and SWAT units in body