OTTAWA -- A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in
Ottawa has been shot by an unknown gunman and people report hearing
gunfire inside the halls of Parliament.
Tory MP Bob Zimmer has tweeted that the gunman was shot and killed, but that report could not be immediately verified.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper was rushed away from the building to an undisclosed location, officials in his office said.
Paramedics and
police pull a shooting victim away from the Canadian War Memorial in
Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. A Canadian soldier standing guard at
the National War Memorial in Ottawa has been shot by an unknown gunman
and there are reports of gunfire inside the halls of Parliament. THE
CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Police are shown at the scene of a reported shooting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday morning. (Richard Madan/CTV News)
Ottawa police confirmed they had a call at 9:52 a.m. with a report of shots fired.
The gunman reportedly ran towards Parliament Hill, which is currently under lockdown and surrounded by security.
A witness reported that a man drove up in a black vehicle, got out carrying a rifle and ran into the Centre Block.
Witnesses reported hearing shots fired in several different corridors.
Some people fled the building by scrambling down scaffolding erected for
renovations.
It is caucus morning on the Hill, meaning most MPs are in the Centre Block.
Police cars and emergency vehicles are clustered at the foot of the Peace Tower and the Centre Block has been evacuated.
Chuck Bronley of Ottawa said he was near the memorial when he heard four shots and saw a man running away carrying a rifle.
A tourist from the Netherlands was also nearby when he heard four shots, and saw an armed man with long, dark hair fleeing.
Police were yelling at bystanders, shouting that there was still a shooter on the loose.
"DND member is down," one officer was overheard saying.
Bronley was fairly certain the victim was one of the ceremonial guards at the War Memorial.
Two people vigorously pumped the victim's chest on the stairs of the
War Memorial, until the victim was finally placed on a stretcher and
ushered into an ambulance shortly after 10 a.m.
Paramedics performed CPR on the soldier before he was taken away by ambulance.
The incident comes just two days after two Canadian soldiers were run
over -- and one of them killed -- in Quebec by a man with jihadist
sympathies.
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