Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Canadian Soldier Shot at War Memorial, Gunshots in Parliament Buildings

By Douglas V. Gibbs

[1] The City of Ottawa is the capital of Canada.  In Ottawa at a War Memorial, a uniformed Canadian soldier has been shot.  Gunfire has also been reported inside the Parliament buildings where the national government's representatives meet.

The soldier has been hospitalized, and the parliament buildings are on lockdown. The Prime Minister, it is being reported, remains safe and "off the hill."

No information regarding the shooter, or the details of the incident, are available at this time.  Check back with Political Pistachio for updates.

[2] UPDATE: Gunman Killed, Police Suspect Multiple Shooters. The incident comes two days after a Canadian soldier was struck by a car and killed by a man with jihadist sympathies.

[3] UPDATE: Shots were fired near an in-progress cabinet meeting in parliament. Canada recently raised threat level in response to an increase in online "general chatter" from radical groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Earlier this month, Canada announced plans to join the US-led campaign of air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.

[4] UPDATE: At least 30 shots heard inside Parliament Building. People fled Parliament by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations. The shooting Wednesday comes two days after a recent convert to Islam killed one Canadian soldier and injured another in a hit-and-run before being gunned down by police.  The suspect had been on the radar of federal investigators, who feared he had jihadist ambitions and seized his passport when he tried to travel to Turkey.

[5] UPDATE: Police state there was only one shooter, identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a convert to Islam with a history of drug use before he converted.  His passport was confiscated by Canadian authorities when they learned he planned to go fight overseas.  The shooter was killed by police inside the Parliament Building where the gunman opened fire.  The Canadian soldier shot at the War Memorial was shot in the back in cold blood, and has died.  A connection to terrorism has not been ruled out.  The attacks on Monday and Wednesday followed an announcement by Canada that they would be joining the United States in the fight against ISIS in the Middle East.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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