A Canadian soldier standing guard at a war memorial in the country's capital was shot to death on Wednesday, and gunfire then erupted inside Parliament, authorities said. One gunman was killed, and police said they were hunting for as many as two
The security at the Parliament was enhanced in September including introduction of long-armed weapons to protect against threats of this very nature.
Mourners light a candle and tie a Canadian flag around a light pole near the National War Memorial after a soldier was killed.
"There was a brief moment of panic," Boisvenu told Radio Canada after the shooting that he described as lasting "several minutes." Seen here: Conservative MP's are transported in an Ottawa transit bus from Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Ontario.
Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper was meeting with lawmakers in Parliament at the moment when a gunman opened fire in the building Wednesday, a senator who attended the meeting said. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu was with Harper at a meeting of fellow
Police gave no details on how the gunman died. But on Twitter, Member of Parliament Craig Scott credited Parliament sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers with shooting the attacker just outside the MPs' caucus rooms.
People fled the complex by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations, while others took cover inside as police with rifles and body armour took up positions outside and cordoned off the normally bustling streets around Parliament.
Witnesses said the soldier was gunned down at point-blank range by a man carrying a rifle and dressed all in black, with a scarf over his face. They said the gunman then ran off and entered Parliament, a few hundred yards away, where dozens of shots
The bloodshed immediately raised the spectre of a coordinated terrorist attack, with Canada already on alert because of a deadly hit-and-run earlier in the week against two Canadian soldiers.
Security stepped up at Canadian Parliament after attack