Chronicle: Shooting in the Canadian Parliament

An unknown gunman opened fire in the center of the Canadian capital, seriously wounding one of the soldiers of the honor guard at the Memorial to the Heroes of the First World War, and then entered the country's parliament building. Police and security services cordoned off the area, the attacker was neutralized, but soon his accomplice tried to repeat the same thing in one of the nearby hotels.

Thanks to the presence of several dozen journalists on the scene covering the work of Parliament, the shooting and subsequent special operation by law enforcement agencies in Ottawa were broadcast virtually “live” on Twitter, Instagram and other social networks. TJournal has compiled a chronicle of the developments.

Shot at the memorial

At around 10 a.m. local time, an unknown masked man opened fire at the Memorial to Canadian Heroes of the First World War in Ottawa. One of the shots seriously wounded a military guard who was on duty at the time. The injured soldier was taken to one of the local hospitals in serious condition, where he later died, despite the efforts of doctors.

The shooter himself headed towards the Canadian Parliament buildings located next to the memorial and got inside.

Gunfire in pariament

— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) October 22, 2014

Man in Parliament

Once in the parliament hall, the criminal was soon surrounded by security and police officers. According to the testimony of journalists who found themselves locked inside the building after the arrival of the special services, a total of about 30 shots were fired in the central part of parliament.

Some time later, the first evidence appeared on Twitter and YouTube that the shooter had been killed.

Globe & Mail journalist Josh Wingrove confirmed that he saw a body on the floor next to a section of the parliamentary library.

Dozens of shots in parliament. I see a body on the ground outside the library of parliament

— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) October 22, 2014

At the same time, the press secretary of the Canadian Prime Minister Supriya Dwidevi tweeted that the head of the country had been evacuated from the parliament building and was currently safe.

Harper's spokesman confirming Prime Minister is safe and has left Parliament Hill.

— Supriya Dwivedi (@supriyadwivedi) October 22, 2014

Cordoned off city

By the time of the shooting inside the building, almost the entire center of Ottawa was cordoned off. The police grouped passers-by and journalists in several safe zones, blocking approaches to houses and traffic on the streets.

Several hundred people were trapped by law enforcement inside one of the local shopping centers.

Constable Chuck Benoit said the cordon will not be lifted until police are confident that all wanted suspects in the shooting have been apprehended.

It later became known that the shooter could have had “at least one accomplice.” Soon the police announced the death of the second armed man involved in the attacks.

Rumors around

on Twitter A few minutes later, information began to spread about a shooting in the Rideau Center shopping center located near the war memorial. According to eyewitnesses, several dozen police officers entered the building “with their weapons raised.”

As it turned out, the information about the shooting at the Rideau was just a rumor - the police cordoned off the building to ensure its safety and the subsequent evacuation of people. After almost three hours, the cordon around the shopping center was lifted .

Canadian television channels also reported a possible shooting at the Chateau Laurier hotel building. The hotel was cordoned off, and eyewitnesses described seeing doctors entering the premises with a stretcher.

On the run

According to media reports , the operation to search for suspects in the events near the parliament building was officially extended to the entire administrative territory of Ottawa.

US President Barack Obama contacted Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to express his condolences. At the same time, US authorities have so far refused to classify the shooting in the Canadian capital as a terrorist act, citing insufficient information about what happened.

JUST IN: Obama talked to Canadian PM Harper a few minutes ago, says Earnest.

— PzFeed Top News (@PzFeed) October 22, 2014

As of this writing, police have reported at least two suspects who are believed to be on the run and have yet to be located.

BREAKING NEWS: Ottawa police now confirm one suspect has been killed. 2 suspects remain at large.

— PzFeed Top News (@PzFeed) October 22, 2014

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