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Parliament lockdown in Ottawa

October 22, 2014

Police have surrounded Canada's parliament after an attacker reportedly shot a soldier guarding a nearby monument. Lawmakers say at least one gunman may have been killed.

https://p.dw.com/p/1DZvP
Parliament in Ottawa
Image: picture-alliance/Bilderbuch

On Wednesday, heavily armed police raced to seal off the building and the office of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper after someone shot and wounded a soldier at the National War Memorial, followed by reports of more than 20 rounds of gunfire inside the halls of Parliament. Lawmakers and the CBC report that police have killed the shooter.

Ottawa police confirmed they had a call at 9:52 a.m. (1352 UTC) with a report of shots fired. The shooter then reportedly ran toward Parliament Hill, now under lockdown.

Emergency responders immediately reported to the scene. Police have announced fears that a second gunman may be on the loose. Public buildings have been closed down across the capital, with reports of citywide police action.

The incident comes just two days after a man with reported extremist sympathies ran over two Canadian soldiers, killing one of them, in the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec.

mkg/sb (Reuters, AFP, AP)