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| Canadian Soldier Dead After Attack Near Parliament in Ottawa | Canadian Soldier Dead After Attack Near Parliament in Ottawa |
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| OTTAWA — The heart of the Canadian capital was traumatized and placed in emergency police lockdown on Wednesday after a gunman fatally wounded a soldier guarding the National War Memorial, entered the nearby Parliament building and fired multiple times before he was shot and killed. | OTTAWA — The heart of the Canadian capital was traumatized and placed in emergency police lockdown on Wednesday after a gunman fatally wounded a soldier guarding the National War Memorial, entered the nearby Parliament building and fired multiple times before he was shot and killed. |
| It was the second deadly assault on a uniformed member of Canada’s armed forces in three days. While the motive was unclear, the Ottawa attack heightened fears that Canada, a strong ally of the United States, had been targeted in an organized terrorist plot. | It was the second deadly assault on a uniformed member of Canada’s armed forces in three days. While the motive was unclear, the Ottawa attack heightened fears that Canada, a strong ally of the United States, had been targeted in an organized terrorist plot. |
| The Canadian authorities provided F.B.I. agents with the name of the dead Parliament assailant, identified by law enforcement officials as Canadian-born Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, born in 1982. | The Canadian authorities provided F.B.I. agents with the name of the dead Parliament assailant, identified by law enforcement officials as Canadian-born Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, born in 1982. |
| By midafternoon Wednesday, the officials said, a search of F.B.I. databases had not come up with anything about the assailant. | By midafternoon Wednesday, the officials said, a search of F.B.I. databases had not come up with anything about the assailant. |
| The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Mr. Zehaf-Bibeau had a criminal record in Quebec dating back 10 years on drug-related offenses, and that he had lived in Montreal. | The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Mr. Zehaf-Bibeau had a criminal record in Quebec dating back 10 years on drug-related offenses, and that he had lived in Montreal. |
| Senior American law enforcement officials said Mr. Zehaf-Bibeau had been a convert to Islam, and that he had changed his birth name, which was originally Michael Joseph Hall. But much about the shooter’s background and possible motivations remained unclear. | |
| Police officers rushed to secure the Parliament building and move occupants to safety as they hunted for what Canadian news reports said were possibly two or three assailants. | Police officers rushed to secure the Parliament building and move occupants to safety as they hunted for what Canadian news reports said were possibly two or three assailants. |
| The police declined to specify how many more gunmen — if any — they might be seeking, but told reporters at a news conference that the situation was “dynamic and unfolding” and suggested they had no forewarning. | The police declined to specify how many more gunmen — if any — they might be seeking, but told reporters at a news conference that the situation was “dynamic and unfolding” and suggested they had no forewarning. |
| “It caught us by surprise,” said Gilles Michaud, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner. | “It caught us by surprise,” said Gilles Michaud, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner. |
| Canadian officials said the wounded soldier, identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, 24, a reservist from Hamilton, Ontario, died at a hospital and that the gunman was killed inside the Parliament building. | Canadian officials said the wounded soldier, identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, 24, a reservist from Hamilton, Ontario, died at a hospital and that the gunman was killed inside the Parliament building. |
| Craig Scott, a member of Parliament, credited the sergeant-at-arms, Kevin Vickers, 58, with shooting the gunman just outside the caucus rooms. In a Twitter posting, Mr. Scott said he and his colleagues “owe their safety, even lives,” to Mr. Vickers. | Craig Scott, a member of Parliament, credited the sergeant-at-arms, Kevin Vickers, 58, with shooting the gunman just outside the caucus rooms. In a Twitter posting, Mr. Scott said he and his colleagues “owe their safety, even lives,” to Mr. Vickers. |
| The shootings came amid heightened concern among Canadians about terrorist attacks. Two days earlier, a radical jihadist ran over two soldiers at a suburban Montreal strip mall, killing one of them. | |
| Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an outspoken critic of the Islamic State movement and other militant groups, has been considering the introduction of new antiterrorism legislation and has actively supported the American-led military effort to degrade the Islamic State’s expansion in Syria and Iraq. | |
| President Obama spoke with Mr. Harper by telephone to offer condolences and vowed to provide any assistance that Canada may need. Speaking later with reporters, Mr. Obama recalled visiting the Parliament building that was the scene of Wednesday’s mayhem. | |
| “We’re all shaken by it,” Mr. Obama said, “but we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that we’re standing side-by-side with Canada during this difficult time.” | |
| The Ottawa Hospital said in a statement that it was treating three people for wounds related to the shooting, and that they were later released. . | |
| The shooting upended a busy day in the capital and paralyzed much of the city. A hockey game here between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators was postponed, the National Hockey League announced. | The shooting upended a busy day in the capital and paralyzed much of the city. A hockey game here between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators was postponed, the National Hockey League announced. |
| The United States Embassy in Ottawa reported that it was in lockdown mode, in an advisory to American citizens posted on its website. | The United States Embassy in Ottawa reported that it was in lockdown mode, in an advisory to American citizens posted on its website. |
| The police told reporters that they began getting multiple 911 calls about shootings in the Parliament area at 9:52 a.m., just as the leaders of the three major parties in Parliament were holding their weekly meetings, suggesting the possibility that the attack had been deliberately timed for when many lawmakers would have been working. Many of the lawmakers were rushed into secure rooms in the basement by guards. | The police told reporters that they began getting multiple 911 calls about shootings in the Parliament area at 9:52 a.m., just as the leaders of the three major parties in Parliament were holding their weekly meetings, suggesting the possibility that the attack had been deliberately timed for when many lawmakers would have been working. Many of the lawmakers were rushed into secure rooms in the basement by guards. |
| Chrystia Freeland, a member of Parliament from Toronto, speaking by cellphone from a windowless room in the basement, said she had been just walking into a meeting she heard shots. | Chrystia Freeland, a member of Parliament from Toronto, speaking by cellphone from a windowless room in the basement, said she had been just walking into a meeting she heard shots. |
| “They hustled me and another woman into this room and told us to hide,” she said. “I’m surrounded by more than a dozen House of Commons security guards.” | “They hustled me and another woman into this room and told us to hide,” she said. “I’m surrounded by more than a dozen House of Commons security guards.” |
| Mr. Harper had been inside Parliament at the time but several witnesses saw him taken away in a motorcade. The entire downtown area was placed on lockdown as police reinforcements arrived, leaving thousands of workers trapped in office towers. The lockdown was partially eased hours later for the downtown area. | Mr. Harper had been inside Parliament at the time but several witnesses saw him taken away in a motorcade. The entire downtown area was placed on lockdown as police reinforcements arrived, leaving thousands of workers trapped in office towers. The lockdown was partially eased hours later for the downtown area. |
| There had been early reports of a shooting in a shopping mall near Parliament but the Ottawa police said those reports were incorrect. | There had been early reports of a shooting in a shopping mall near Parliament but the Ottawa police said those reports were incorrect. |
| Convoys carrying heavily armed police officers continued to race into the area hours after the first shots were fired, apparently in the hunt for other possible gunmen. But the normally congested streets were otherwise ghostlike. As the hours passed, the police extended their perimeter of closed roads ensnaring the core in a ring of gridlock. | Convoys carrying heavily armed police officers continued to race into the area hours after the first shots were fired, apparently in the hunt for other possible gunmen. But the normally congested streets were otherwise ghostlike. As the hours passed, the police extended their perimeter of closed roads ensnaring the core in a ring of gridlock. |
| The Ottawa Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police warned the public in a Twitter post to “stay away from the downtown Ottawa area.” | The Ottawa Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police warned the public in a Twitter post to “stay away from the downtown Ottawa area.” |
| Witnesses reported seeing the gunman who shot the soldier running into the House of Commons and firing dozens of rounds. Some witnesses said that he had hijacked a passing car to make the trip to the principal Parliament building in the area, known as Parliament Hill. | Witnesses reported seeing the gunman who shot the soldier running into the House of Commons and firing dozens of rounds. Some witnesses said that he had hijacked a passing car to make the trip to the principal Parliament building in the area, known as Parliament Hill. |
| A special ambulance, modified from a transit bus to handle disasters, stood nearby Parliament Hill at the Supreme Court, as did several paramedics, some wearing helmets and body armor. | A special ambulance, modified from a transit bus to handle disasters, stood nearby Parliament Hill at the Supreme Court, as did several paramedics, some wearing helmets and body armor. |
| Journalists covering Parliament were ordered by police officers at gunpoint to lie on the floor in the foyer in front of the House of Commons, The Globe and Mail reported on its website. The Globe and Mail’s correspondent, Josh Wingrove, said in a series of Twitter posts that the hallways were filled with the smell of gunpowder. | Journalists covering Parliament were ordered by police officers at gunpoint to lie on the floor in the foyer in front of the House of Commons, The Globe and Mail reported on its website. The Globe and Mail’s correspondent, Josh Wingrove, said in a series of Twitter posts that the hallways were filled with the smell of gunpowder. |
| Dozens of Royal Canadian Mounted Police squad cars as well as one armored police vehicle converged on Parliament Hill’s Centre Block, as heavily armed officers wearing bulletproof vests went into the complex. | Dozens of Royal Canadian Mounted Police squad cars as well as one armored police vehicle converged on Parliament Hill’s Centre Block, as heavily armed officers wearing bulletproof vests went into the complex. |