The 2014 shootings at Parliament Hill occurred on 22 October 2014, at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a Canadian soldier, and reservist on ceremonial sentry duty, was fatally shot at the National War Memorial, followed by an attack on the nearby Centre Block parliament building, where members of the Parliament of Canada were attending caucuses. The attack ended with a shootout when the perpetrator, 32-year-old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, ran inside the parliament buildings and was shot 31 times by six Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers and died on scene. Following the shootings, the downtown core of Ottawa was placed on lockdown and majority of schools in Ottawa were on lockdown while police searched for any potential additional threats.
Classified by the RCMP as a terrorist act, it was the most serious security breach at Parliament Hill since the 1966 parliament bombing. The attack gained international attention and raised concerns about the effectiveness of police actions to prevent terrorist attacks, and the security measures in place at federal and provincial legislatures.
Shootings
National War Memorial
Shortly before 10:00 a.m. EDT, on 22 October 2014, witnesses saw a man arrive at the National War Memorial carrying a rifle, dressed in blue jeans and a black jacket, with a keffiyeh scarf over the lower part of his face. The attacker approached Corporal Nathan Cirillo of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's), a reserve infantry unit, who was one of three sentries from the Ceremonial Guard posted at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At close range, Cirillo was shot twice in the back, fatally wounding him. One account stated that after Cirillo was hit once in the back from a distance of 3 meters from the memorial, he tried to take cover and crawl to the other side of the tomb but the gunman pursued him and shot him again in the lower back from behind. Cirillo, like all others who stood sentry at the memorial, carried an unloaded firearm, provided by the CAF with no particular training for such a situation. It was only minutes before the end of the sentries' shift, which ended at 10:00 a.m. Cpl. Kyle Button and Cpl. Branden Stevenson, two other soldiers on sentry duty, attempted to stop the attack, but they were shot at and forced to flee to the other side of the Memorial.
The attacker pulled down his scarf, held his rifle one-handedly over his head and yelled, "For Iraq." before fleeing the scene. The three soldiers then attended to Cirillo. Along with bystanders, they applied first aid to Cirillo, attempting to resuscitate him; Paramedic Chief Anthony DiMonte, who was first on scene, assumed patient care until additional paramedics arrived to provide medical care before Cirillo was taken to hospital.
Cpl. Anthony Wiseman was nearly run over while attempting to stop the attacker who returned to his vehicle, a small grey Toyota car, which was parked on the south side of Wellington Street behind the memorial. He drove west along Wellington a short distance to Parliament Hill where he abandoned his vehicle. Past scattering bystanders, he ran through a gate in the fence surrounding the Parliament Hill precinct and carjacked a parliamentary vehicle assigned to ministers of the Crown, which he drove to the Centre Block parliament building. RCMP officers on patrol in the precinct witnessed the carjacking and pursued the vehicle to the base of the Peace Tower.
A photograph of the attack was taken by a tourist at the war memorial during the shootings. It shows the attacker holding the rifle and wearing a scarf over part of his face, with part of the War Memorial behind him. Ottawa police seized the camera and then took their own photograph of the image using a cellphone. French-Canadian journalist William Reymond received a copy of the photograph via the Internet, anonymously, apparently a copy of a tweet originating from the Ottawa Police of the cellphone picture. Reymond then took a picture of the image as it was displayed on his computer monitor and posted it to Twitter a few hours later after confirming the image. The image was re-tweeted by an ISIL sympathizer, leading to erroneous media reports that the image originated from an ISIL Twitter account.
Parliament buildings
The attacker, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, entered the Centre Block through the main entrance under the Peace Tower, where Samearn Son was one of two constables on duty. Son saw the rifle in Zehaf-Bibeau's hand, immediately grabbed it, and pulled it towards the floor while yelling, "Gun! Gun! Gun!" In the ensuing struggle, Son was shot in the foot and had to let go of the attacker. While other RCMP officers converged, Son limped out of the building and calmly told a CBC reporter outside, "I will survive." Just inside the Centre Block, gunfire was exchanged with security personnel and the attacker was wounded.
Zehaf-Bibeau then ran along the Hall of Honour corridor toward the Library of Parliament. Pursued by RCMP officers, he passed, on his left, the door to a committee room in which Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the governing Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) were meeting. Directly opposite was the door to another caucus room, where leader of the opposition, Thomas Mulcair, and New Democratic Party MPs were gathered. (The Liberals, as the third party, were holding their caucus meeting in a chamber downstairs.) During the shooting, one bullet penetrated the outer doors to the NDP caucus room. Inside their room, NDP MPs dove for cover. Across the hall, the RCMP placed Prime Minister Harper in a closet while Conservative MPs made a barricade at the doors, grabbing flagpoles to use as rudimentary spears.
Finally, the attacker reached an alcove by the entrance to the Library of Parliament, and hid out of sight of RCMP officers, who ordered him to drop his gun and surrender. The location of the alcove is near the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons, Kevin Vickers. Vickers, a distinguished policeman, commander and administrator with the RCMP before he joined the staff of the House of Commons in 2005, retrieved his 9mm Smith & Wesson 5946 handgun from a lock-box and entered the hall.
Vickers's security team, which had been chasing, yelled to Vickers that the suspect was hiding in the alcove. Vickers immediately ran behind the other side of a nearby column, then dove past the column and fired upward at the attacker.
Witnesses and reports show RCMP Constable Curtis Barrett, leading the tactical formation, fired the shot that killed the attacker after they had fired in his direction. CBC television cameras on the scene recorded over 30 shots fired in the final gunfight. Footage showed a group of RCMP officers converging near the alcove; two loud gunshots are heard, then a large number of gunshots in rapid succession, then silence.
Vickers was recorded by CBC video footage walking away from the shooting site, going to the Conservative caucus room. Vickers explained to the Conservative caucus what had happened and reportedly said either "I put him down" or "I have engaged the suspect. He is deceased." According to Vickers's niece: "This is the first time in his career that he's shot anyone." Following the shooting, Harper's RCMP security detail arrived and evacuated him, while the Parliament buildings were put into lockdown.
Casualty and injuries
Corporal Nathan Frank Cirillo (23 December 1989 – 22 October 2014), a 24-year-old Canadian soldier, was killed. He was a Class-A reservist of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada from Hamilton, Ontario. He was on sentry duty, as a chosen member of the Ceremonial Guard, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial when he was shot. Cirillo had a standard issue Colt Canada C7 rifle which, in accordance with standard practice, was unloaded. Although several civilians immediately provided assistance for the wounded reservist, Cirillo died in hospital later that morning. Cirillo's funeral took place a few days later. The procession of an estimated 4,500 military members — as well as police and emergency service members — made its way from Bayfront Park to Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. Thousands of onlookers silently paid their respects all along the route. Members of the regiment, Cirillo's mother Kathy, and Cirillo's five-year-old son followed wearing his father's style regiment's cap observed as his flag-draped casket was carried inside. Corporal Cirillo's remains are buried in the very middle of the military section of Woodland Cemetery in Burlington, Ontario.
Samearn Son, a House of Commons constable, was shot in the foot while trying to wrestle a gun away from the perpetrator at the Centre Block, and was treated and released by Ottawa Civic Hospital. Son's actions caused a critical delay, allowing other security personnel to mobilize before the attack. Two other unidentified people who were injured in unspecified locations were treated and released at Ottawa Civic Hospital.
Aftermath
Ottawa
Ottawa's downtown core was put under lockdown while a search began for a potential second shooter. Buildings under lockdown included the Parliament buildings, the University of Ottawa and the United States embassy. Initially, police reported a third shooting had taken place near the Rideau Centre mall at the same time. A few hours later, police corrected this mistaken report, stating that only two shootings took place.
At a press conference at 14:00, Ottawa police confirmed Cirillo's death without using his name, pending notification of his family. The RCMP confirmed the suspect's death, without his name or any other details, citing the ongoing investigation. The National Defence headquarters, the parliament buildings and other government facilities remained in lockdown while a search of the area took place. Areas around Parliament Hill including the Rideau Centre and the University of Ottawa remained closed for hours with buildings in lockdown, with police searching buildings room by room for shooters. Police lifted the lockdown on all public schools in and around Ottawa's downtown core at around 5:45 p.m. Parliament Hill remained under lockdown until well past 21:00 and, even after MPs and staffers were allowed to leave the Centre Block, streets directly adjacent to Parliament Hill and the National War Memorial remained closed to the public the next day. Parliament Hill reopened to the public on 24 October, and Parliament Buildings tours resumed on 27 October.
Nationally and internationally
Canadian Armed Forces members in Ottawa, Quebec and Atlantic Canada were told to stay out of uniform when not on active duty, while members in other parts of Canada were not asked to avoid wearing uniforms. Further, Canadian military bases around the country heightened their security. The incident caused cancellation of a ceremony scheduled for later the same day in Toronto, in which Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai was to receive her certificate of honorary Canadian citizenship from Stephen Harper.
Although security was heightened at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in Toronto, all of the party leaders agreed that the day's session of Question Period should continue. In Edmonton, public tours were cancelled for the day at the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and security increased. The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia was placed under restricted access and most constituency offices on Vancouver Island were closed as a precaution. Nova Scotia's legislature, sitting that day, restricted access in the public gallery to the press and staff of the government and political parties. All provincial and territorial assemblies flew flags at half mast the evening of 22 October as a tribute to Cirillo.
In the United States, security was increased in Washington, D.C.: at the Canadian embassy, United States federal government offices nearby, and the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. The Australian Federal Police increased security at Australia's Parliament House, as well as at the Canadian High Commission in Canberra. Security at the New Zealand Parliament Buildings was also tightened.
Reactions
On 23 October, MPs in the House of Commons gave a standing ovation to Vickers for his heroism. As Mulcair of the New Democratic Party put it: "Just as we have all borne witness to these horrific acts, we have watched in awe your acts of courage, now an abiding emblem of Canadian strength, values and valour." The first order of business was a moment of silence for Cirillo. Prior to the day's session, Harper laid a wreath at the War Memorial; MPs from all parties attended a moment of silence and sang "O Canada" at the Memorial before walking together to Parliament. The flags at Parliament Hill and other federal government buildings were also flown at half-mast.