Hearing gunshots immediately outside the room where she was meeting in Parliament, Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Conservative MP Cathy McLeod said she feared a gunman would come through the door.
McLeod remained with others late yesterday, in lockdown in the Parliament Buildings following shootings in Ottawa that left a Canadian soldier and his apparent shooter both dead.
In an emailed message to KTW, McLeod said MPs were instructed to be careful with public communication via Twitter.
“The shooting happened right outside the door from where I was located. The first shot, you tried to identify what it was,” she said.
The gunman shot and killed a soldier — Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a 24-year-old reservist from Hamilton — standing guard at the National War Memorial across from Parliament.
The gunman then went to Parliament Hill, where he was reportedly killed after trading shots with Parliament’s sergeant at arms, Kevin Vickers.
McLeod said the sound of gunshots was unmistakeable, but what wasn’t clear is what would come next.
MPs do not have electronic communication in many of their meetings.
“So, it took a while to have more clarity as to what was happening,” she said.
“With multiple gunshots, it quickly became apparent that is was an attack of some sort.
“You did not know if it was one or many shooters, but I did think they would be coming inside the door.”
The attack on Parliament Hill took place two days after two soldiers in Quebec were intentionally run down in a car driven by 25-year-old Martin Couture-Rouleau, who was one of 90 suspected extremists being watched by the RCMP.
Couture-Rouleau led police on a chase and was shot and killed when he emerged from his crashed vehicle with a knife in his hand.
One soldier was killed and the other solider was injured.
Conservative Sen. Nancy Greene Raine of Sun Peaks is also in Ottawa for Senate meetings and was in the Victoria Building on Wellington Street, across from the Parliament Buildings, when the attack occurred.
The senator’s husband, Al Raine, told KTW he had not spoken with his wife, but noted he did receive a four-word email from her: “In lockdown. I’m safe.”
McLeod said the response from police and security, including Ottawa police, Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP “is inspiring.
“Today we need to grieve for the young member of our Canadian Armed Forces who lost his life,” she said.
Despite the attack on Parliament Hill, it is business as usual at the Rocky Mountain Rangers armoury on McGill road.
The armoury remains open to the public and security protocols are unchanged.
“At this time, there won’t be any changes to our operating procedure,” said operations officer Capt. Conor Molloy. “Our security protocol is actually quite robust and that’s something that we maintain at all times.
“Just with regards to the recent incidents, it’s just requiring more vigilance on the part of our soldiers and leadership.”
The gunman killed in the deadly shooting rampage has been identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.
Little else is known about the man, but one media report says he’s Canadian and was born in 1982.
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