Ottawa on lockdown after 3 shooting incidents incl parliament, manhunt unfolds
A manhunt is on for one or more armed assailants after several rounds of gunfire tore through Parliament Hill, as well as National War Memorial and near a shopping mall in Ottawa, Canada. The city of Ottawa is on lockdown as police try to locate culprits.
"Incidents occurred at National War Memorial, near the Rideau Centre and Parliament Hill this morning," Ottawa Police said on their Twitter feed. The shootings began just before 10am on Wednesday when a soldier was wounded in the war memorial shooting.
Several shots rang through Parliament Hill, prompting concern over the ease with which the gunman apparently accessed the site.
“So I’m locked down in Center Block on Parliament Hill after at least one shooter burst in and opened fire,” local reporter Josh Wingrove stated. “I heard dozens of gunshots and the smell of gunpowder is heavy in the hallways right now.”
Wingrove also reported seeing a motionless body inside the parliament building, which he could not confirm to be either dead or alive.
Some 30 shots were fired inside the building, an eyewitness told Reuters. The gunman was subsequently chased by police into the center block of the building.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper managed to exit the building safely. However, two victims - one of whom was shot - have been escorted to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Canadian Armed Forces bases across the country are in lockdown and all Ottawa Police stations are currently closed to the public as gunmen remain at large. One shooter has been confirmed dead, according to senior CBC news reporter Aaron Saltzman.
Ottowa police have confirmed that two or three gunmen were involved in the incident.
Associated Press Television News journalist Jorge Barrera reported that police are in possession of a photograph of one of the gunmen, who reportedly has dark skin and long black hair. Barrera also tweeted that police have the suspect’s cellphone.
All three locations are withing a few hundred meters of one another.
The incident comes a day after another soldier from Canada died in a road accident suspected to have been caused by an Islamic militant. He was one of two soldiers involved in the incident which was the first of its kind in Canada since it joined the fight against the Islamic State.]
On Tuesday Canada raised its domestic terror threat from low to medium.
http://rt.com/news/198248-canada-par...oting-soldier/
http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/sh...l-oct-22-2014/