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'Shots were non-stop,' says Thibeault

The latest info: According to media reports, there are three confirmed shootings in Ottawa: one each at the War Memorial, CentreBlock, and near the Rideau Centre. One gunman dead, according to the latest informatoin.
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A soldier, police and paramedics tend to a soldier shot at the National Memorial near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The latest info:

According to media reports, there are three confirmed shootings in Ottawa: one each at the War Memorial, CentreBlock, and near the Rideau Centre.

One gunman dead, according to the latest informatoin. Police are hunting more suspects

Stores inside the Rideau Centre in Ottawa are in lockdown, according to media reports.

Reports indicated doors are closed and locked, and employees are in hiding. Police running through the hallways.

There is no update on the condition of the soldier who was shot; he is currently at the Ottawa Civic Hospital.

The Canadian embassy in DC has locked its front door, and only staff is allowed in, according to reports.

There is no further comment on security measures right now.

Meanwhile, CFB North Bay is locked down, and NORAD has increased its alert posture following the Ottawa shootings, said BayToday.com.

Original story  

 

Sudbury MP Glenn Thibeault tweeted Wednesday morning he was placed in lockdown with other politicians and Parliament Hill staff in Ottawa after a gunman shot a soldier at the Canadian War Memorial.

According to news reports, 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.

Thibeault, through Twitter, called the experience the scariest moment of his life.

"We are still in lock down," he tweeted NorthernLife.ca reporter Darren MacDonald. "I will try in a bit (to call)... This is still active. There is still one shooter. I am safe... But security right outside our door ... the guy walked right by my caucus door ... shots were non-stop.

"I can tell you he somehow made it in... 30 or 40 shots fired... Right outside caucus door security came running in telling us to get down."

Around the same time the soldier was shot, there were unconfirmed reports of shootings inside Centre Block.

Conservative MP Bob Zimmer has tweeted that the gunman was shot and killed, but that report was not be immediately verified by police.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was rushed away from the building to an undisclosed location, officials in his office said.

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.

Cabinet minister Tony Clement tweeted that at least 30 shots were heard inside the building, where Conservative and Liberal MPs were holding their weekly caucus meetings.

Most of those MPs remain locked down in their caucus rooms.

The NDP caucus was evacuated along with the Liberal Senate caucus.

A witness reported that a man drove up in a black vehicle, got out carrying a rifle and ran into the Centre Block — the seat of the House of Commons under the Peace Tower.

Witnesses reported hearing shots fired in several different corridors. Some people fled the building by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations.

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.

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.

-with files from the Canadian Press


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