The two shootings in Ottawa Wednesday left lawmakers barricaded inside offices and parts of the city on lockdown for hours as police searched for suspects.
Ottawa Police lifted the lockdown Wednesday night and said there was no longer a danger to the public.
But many questions remain about the shootings: Who was the gunman? Why did he open fire? And was he acting alone?
"It appears there was
just one shooter, and that shooter is dead," Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson
told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "But it has been a traumatic experience,
obviously, for not only our city but the country."
Investigators haven't
provided any possible motives for the shooting. Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper didn't provide details about the investigation in a
televised address to the nation Wednesday night.
"In the days to come, we
will learn more about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had,
but this week's events are a grim reminder that Canada is not immune to
the types of terrorist attacks we have seen elsewhere in the world,"
Harper said. "Let there be no misunderstanding: We will not be
intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated."
It is unclear whether
additional suspects were tied to the shootings or whether additional
arrests have been made. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said more
information would be provided in a press conference Thursday.
As authorities continued to investigate, details began to emerge about the man they suspect was behind the shooting.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was identified by Canadian officials to their American counterparts as the suspected gunman, multiple U.S. officials told CNN.
Bibeau, who was born in 1982, was a convert to Islam and had a history of drug use before he converted, two sources said.
His passport had been
confiscated by Canadian authorities when they learned he planned to go
fight overseas, a U.S. law enforcement official told CNN's Susan
Candiotti. The official said it was not clear when that happened.
Canadian broadcaster CBC reported that Bibeau had a record of drug arrests going back 10 years.
'Murdered in cold blood'
Cpl. Nathan Cirillo
was "murdered in cold blood" as he stood guard at the Canada War
Memorial, Harper said, expressing condolences to the slain Canadian
soldier's family.
The soldier appeared to
have been shot in the back, said Peter Henderson, a journalist who was
at the memorial at the time of the shooting. Other soldiers who were
nearby doing drills at the time ran to help, he said.
Three people brought to
The Ottawa Hospital after the shootings have been released, hospital
spokeswoman Hazel Harding told CNN. Earlier, they were described as
being in stable condition.
Shortly after the shooting at the memorial, a gunman entered the nearby building on Parliament Hill, officials said.
"I heard rapid fire --
gunshots going very loud -- and I figure maybe 20-plus shots within 10
seconds," Canadian Deputy House Leader Kevin Lamoureux told CNN. He was
one level below the gunshots.
Source:CNN
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