Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that his country “will never be intimidated” after the deadly attack near the Canadian national parliament in Ottawa during a televised address. He said that the attack leads Canada to “redouble our efforts” and take “necessary steps to identify and counter threats to keep Canada safe.”
A gunman identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a 32-year-old Muslim convert, had earlier killed 24-year-old corporal Nathan Cirillo, who stood at the National War Memorial. The gunman later took part in a police shootout inside Parliament, firing as many as 50 shots, before being shot dead by sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers.
Police had been scouring the center of Ottawa to find antoher two possible gunmen and said they couldn’t yet confirm that the man who shot the soldier was the same person who later attacked the parliament.
Footage from within Canadia’s Parliament:
Canada is among the countries that joined the US-led coalition to combat ISIS with Canadian aircraft due to participate in a bombing campaign against extremist. Following the attack Mr. Harper strengthened his resolve “to work with our allies around the world and fight against the terrorist organizations who brutalize those in other countries in the hope of bringing their savagery to our shores.”
Mr. Harper was addressing MPS at the time of the shooting and was safely rushed out of the building to safety.
This came just days after another soldier was killed in a hit-and-run attack by a Muslim convert in Quebec.