Canadian soldier dies after shooting incident at National War Memorial as one gunman is killed inside Parliament
A Canadian soldier has died after being shot at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, as one gunman was killed and police hunted for at least one other.
Eyewitnesses said they saw one man with a long rifle get into a car after shooting the guard at the memorial in the chest. A minister, Jason Kennedy, later said on Twitter that the soldier had died.
The gunman was believed to have hi-jacked a car and driven to nearby Parliament Hill, where he was chased inside the building by officers.
Video footage from within the main Parliament building, Centre Block, showed armed officers engaging the suspected assailant in a gunfight, with around 30 shots heard.
One gunman has now been confirmed shot and killed in that exchange, but at least one other is believed to be on the loose. Police confirmed that shots had also been fired at a mall near Parliament.
A Canadian journalist, Bruce Cheadle, reported that the gunman in Parliament was shot by Sergeant At Arms Kevin Vickers - an official ordinarily tasked with keeping order in the House of Commons.
Reporters and MPs inside the building said that they could smell gunpowder in the hallways, while there were unconfirmed reports that a security guard and a member of parliamentary staff may have been injured during the exchange.
After further gunfire was heard downtown, officers issued a warning for all members of public to stay away from windows and roofs. Much of the city remained on lockdown.
John Ivison, an Ottawa-based political correspondent, said police believe there are "multiple assailants" and that the area is still "not secure". He said there were suggestions a gunman had fired down on to the nearby street of Metcalfe from a position on the roof.
Parliament has been on lockdown since the initial shooting at the war memorial, while the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was reported to have been successfully evacuated from the building as police converged.
His director of communications, Jason MacDonald, tweeted that Mr Harper was "safe and has left Parliament Hill".
The war memorial itself has been sealed off as a crime scene since officers responded to the incident at 9.52am. The soldier who was shot has since been taken away by ambulance, and his current condition is unknown.
Eyewitness Matthew Blaise told reporters: "I head a bunch of pops first; I thought it was firecrackers, so I looked over at the war memorial and I saw a man with a rifle shooting at a bunch of people. As soon as I saw him shooting, I ducked for cover."
Maintenance worker Barry Willis said he was on Parliament Hill when he heard shots fired. He told The Wall Street Journal he was standing by his work van when a man pointed a rifle in his direction.
...culled from The Independent
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