Soldier, 1 Shooter Dead as Canada Locks Down Capital

PM Stephen Harper evacuated; gunfire heard inside Parliament halls
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 22, 2014 10:13 AM CDT
Updated Oct 22, 2014 12:42 PM CDT
Lockdown as Soldier Shot Near Canadian Parliament
A Royal Canadian Mounted Police intervention team responds to a reported shooting at Parliament building in Ottawa, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld)

Canada's Parliament Hill, National War Memorial, and a nearby mall came under attack this morning, Ottawa police tell the CBC, and one gunman is dead with another still believed to be at large. "Most of downtown Ottawa is in lockdown," says a police rep, as per the AP. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot around 9:52am today; he subsequently died at the hospital, two MPs tell CNN. Two other people have been brought to the Ottawa hospital, but their conditions are not believed to be life-threatening. Witnesses then reported seeing a gunman heading toward Parliament Hill, which is a few minutes' walk away; multiple shots were reported inside, and the building was quickly placed under lockdown. The gunman was reportedly found dead inside Parliament.

"I heard rapid fire—gunshots going very loud — and I figure maybe 20-plus shots within 10 seconds," Canadian Deputy House Leader Kevin Lamoureux tells CNN. The network reports that the Canadian embassy in Washington has also been placed on lockdown as a precaution. In Ottawa, police warned people to "stay away… due to [an] ongoing police incident," reports ABC News. The top spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Harper was safe and has left Parliament Hill, where he has offices. The incident comes two days after two Canadian soldiers were run over—one fatally—in Quebec by a man said to have jihadist sympathies. (More Canada stories.)

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