Canada kills gunman who opened fire at prime minister's office
According to VNA
According to the announcement of the Canadian police, the perpetrator of the shooting outside the Parliament building and the Prime Minister's Office in the capital Ottawa on October 22 was killed by police when he ran into the main area of the building. Before that, this person opened fire on a soldier standing guard at a nearby memorial. The soldier who was shot also died due to the severity of his injuries.
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| Canadian police deploy forces to hunt for shooter (Source: Reuters) |
Canadian police, with the support of armored vehicles, immediately sealed off this area, along with many other important areas in the capital, including the area around the US Embassy. According to information provided by witnesses, there may have been more than one attacker, but the police have not confirmed this. The motive for the attack is currently being investigated. According to the initial assessment of Canadian Minister of Public Safety, Mr. Steven Blaney, the incident shows signs of a terrorist attack.
A statement from the Canadian Prime Minister's Office said Prime Minister Stephen Harper was attending a meeting at Parliament House when the shooting occurred, however, he is currently safe and has left the area.
During a meeting with parliamentary leaders, Prime Minister Harper strongly condemned the cowardly attack, stressing that it was important to keep the government and Parliament functioning normally.
Prime Minister Harper also had a phone call with US President Barack Obama about this incident. President Obama sent condolences to Prime Minister Harper for the attack, which he called a “tragedy”; at the same time, he affirmed that Washington will continue to cooperate on security with Ottawa.
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| The initial shooting took place at the War Memorial (Source: Reuters) |
Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced that US and Canadian air defense forces are on alert in case of an air attack following the above incident.
The shooting came two days after a Muslim convert clashed with two Canadian soldiers near Montreal, killing one. Canada had previously raised its terror alert from low to medium due to concerns about the growing threat from extremist terrorist organizations./.
According to VNA