Man arrested as Ottawa pays tribute
Print Edition
POLICE in Ottawa yesterday arrested a man at gunpoint just steps from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, underscoring tensions in the city a day after a gunman killed a soldier and rampaged through Parliament.
Harper and his wife were laying a wreath at the National War Memorial to commemorate the killing of the soldier there when police, shouting and with guns drawn, surrounded a man and ordered him to the ground.
Ottawa police said the man was arrested for “disturbing the crime scene” at the war memorial. It was not immediately clear what was his intent.
“He crossed the tape. We told him not to. He didn’t listen,” said a police officer at the scene.
The tense moment, captured on camera and seen by throngs of people and politicians who had gathered at the memorial, highlighted tensions a day after a reported convert to Islam fatally shot a soldier there and raced through Parliament before being shot dead.
Harper was pulled away after he and his wife briefly lifted the crime scene tape and attempted to lay flowers. They then laid a wreath outside the crime scene.
Tighter security was evident all over the sprawling parliamentary zone in downtown Ottawa yesterday. Armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers stood outside the door where Wednesday’s gunman, identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, rushed in.
The flag flying over Parliament’s Center Block flew at half mast. Members of parliament said they would gather at the war memorial to honor Canadian soldier Nathan Cirillo shot dead at the site.
Parliament Hill and the downtown core were under lockdown for 10 hours on Wednesday, as police scoured the area for more possible suspects.
“There was only one gunman,” said an mounted police officer who was guarding Parliament Hill early yesterday.
In the confusion on Wednesday morning, witnesses saw things from different angles, he said, suggesting the possibility of second shooter, but videos and further interviews showed this was not the case.
The killing of a Canadian soldier was the second this week with a possible link to Islamist militants.
In a brief address to the nation on Wednesday night, Harper pledged to redouble the country’s fight against “terrorist” organizations.
“Let there be no misunderstanding, we will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated,” he said.
“This will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts and those of our national security agencies to take all necessary steps to identify and counter threats.”
A convert to Islam on Monday ran over two Canadian soldiers with his car, killing one, near Montreal.
Both attacks took place after Canada announced it will send six jets to take part in air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.
Defense Minister Rob Nicholson said Canada’s deployment to Iraq would go on unimpeded.
Canadian police were investigating Michael Zehaf-Bibeau as a suspect in Wednesday’s attack, said a source familiar with the matter.
Court documents show he previously faced a robbery charge in Vancouver and multiple drug-related charges in Montreal.
United States officials said they had been advised that the dead gunman was a Canadian convert to Islam.
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