Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in an evening address that Canada would not be intimidated by Wednesday's "brutal and violent attack" in Ottawa, in which an armed attacker shot and fatally wounded a Canadian Forces member at the National War Memorial before being shot dead in Parliament's Centre Block. 
 
 The slain soldier is Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, 24,a reservist from Hamilton. 
 
 Moments after Cirillo was shot at his post by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, MPs and other witnesses reported 30 to 50 shots fired inside the main Parliament building. 
 
 It was confirmed later that the gunman was shot dead inside the building, felled by the House of Commons sergeant-at-arms and RCMP, according to MPs' accounts. 
 
 CBC News has confirmed the dead shooting suspectis Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a Canadian born in 1982. CBC News has learned that Zehaf-Bibeau has a criminal record in Quebec dating back 10 years on some drug-related charges. Court documents from that time show that he lived at an address in Montreal. 
 
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 He also has a criminal record in B.C., where he was convicted in 2012 of uttering threats and served one day in jail. 
 
 In his brief address, Harper offered condolences for Cirillo's family, and for the family of Patrice Vincent, another soldier who was killed in an attack earlier this week. 
 
 "For the second time this week, there has been a brutal and violent attack on our soil," he said. 
 
 "But let there be no misunderstanding — we will not be intimidated, Canada will never be intimidated." 
 
 NDP Leader Tom Mulcair andLiberal Leader Justin Trudeau delivered their own statements, condemning the attacks and pledging support for the government. 
 
 Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the suspected gunman in Wednesday's Ottawa shootings, had a criminal record in B.C. and Quebec. (Twitter) 
 
 Harper, who was on Parliament Hill at the time of the shooting and was safely whisked away, met with members of his cabinet before making his address. He then met with the Conservative caucus, who had been in lockdown on the Hill until after 8 p.m. ET. 
 
 Harper's spokesman Carl Vallée said on Twitter that Harper also spoke briefly to U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday afternoon. Harper also spoke with Mulcair and Trudeau, the Prime Minister's Office said. 
 
 Hundreds of people, including children at a daycare, waited hours to be evacuated from Parliament Hill as the area remained under lockdown. Late Wednesday OC Transpo buses began taking people away from the Hill as the lockdown eased. 
 
 Caught 'by surprise' 
 
 In an afternoon news conference, police would not say whether they still suspect another shooter is involved, saying only "there is no one in custody at this time." 
 
 "This is a dynamic and unfolding situation," said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud, commanding officer of the national division. 
 
 Michaud also suggested that police had no forewarning of the attack, saying "it caught us by surprise." He added that it's too soon to say whether the dead gunman was already known to security officials. 
 
 Michaud added that police have maintained a "medium" level of security of Parliament for the past number of years, and that had not changed in recent days. 
 
 Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau asked witnesses to the incidents to come forward. 
 
 Ottawa Civic Hospital confirmed four people were taken to hospital: the soldier who died, and three who were released after treatment for minor injuries. One of those injured was a parliamentary security guard shot in the foot, according to CBC's Judy Trinh. 
 
 Despite earlier reports of shots fired near the Rideau Centre shopping mall east of Parliament Hill, police later said "no incident occurred near the Rideau Centre." 
 
 Chaos and bravery inside Parliament 
 
 Alain Merisier, who works at the cafeteria in one of the Parliament Buildings, told CBC News that he saw a man in a car at the Centre Block with a long gun. 
 
 Cpl. Nathan Cirillo guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National Memorial in Ottawa in a photo posted on Twitter Wednesday. Cirillo was shot and killed by a man who later attacked the Parliament buildings. (Twitter) 
 
 CBC video and cellphone video shot by a Globe and Mail reporter showed a chaotic scene in the elegant hallway leading from the front doors of Parliament's Centre Block to the Library of Parliament during the attack. 
 
 A sustained volley of shots was fired. Startled security personnel and political staff scrambled to take cover in the limestone alcoves as bullets flew. 
 
 In the minutes after the shooting, MPs and parliamentary staff began tweeting and telling reporters that it was Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers who shot the gunman. The tweets included: 
 
 NDP MP Craig Scott: "MPs and Hill staff owe their safety, even lives, to Sergeant at Arms Kevin Vickers who shot attacker just outside the MPs' caucus rooms." 
 
 Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino, former head of the Ontario Provincial Police and ex-Toronto chief of police: "I am safe & profoundly grateful to Sgt at Arms Kevin Vickers & our security forces for selfless act of keeping us safe." 
 
 Justice Minister Peter MacKay: "Thank God for Sgt at Arms Kevin Vickers & our Cdn security forces. True heroes." 
 
 Eyewitness accounts 
 
 Earlier, police sealed off the area around the National War Memorial while the injured soldier was given emergency medical aid. 
 
 "We were waiting there for a city tour and suddenly I heard four shots," said Jan Lugtenborg, a tourist visiting downtown Ottawa from Holland. 
 
 The barricaded Conservative Party caucus room is shown shortly after shooting began on Parliament Hill. (MP Nina Grewal/Reuters) 
 
 "Suddenly I saw a small guy with long black hair … with a long rifle, and he ran away after the shots, across streets in the direction of Parliament Hill," he said. 
 
 Raivo Nommick, another bystander, said "all of a sudden, I just heard a shot, turned around and there was a guy with a rifle .... and just pow pow. 
 
 "Then I saw one of the other Armed Forces guys just running. He barrelled over, just ran right over. The other guy just dropped. I looked back and just dived underneath and immediately called 911." 
 
 First responders arrive after multiple shots were fired at Ottawa's National War Memorial on Wednesday morning. (Laura Payton/CBC) 
 
 Scott Walsh, who was working on Parliament Hill, said he saw a man running with a double-barrelled shotgun, wearing a scarf and blue jeans. 
 
 Walsh said the man hopped over the stone fence that surrounds Parliament Hill, forcing someone out of their car at gunpoint. He then drove to the front doors of Parliament and fired at least two shots, Walsh said. 
 
 Conservative MPs are transported in an Ottawa transit bus from Parliament Hill in Ottawa Wednesday, after a gunman attacked Parliament Hill and was shot dead. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press) 
 
 New Democrat MP Hélène Laverdière said she heard 20 to 30 shots inside Parliament, and hit the floor. She and fellow MPs Charlie Angus and Rosane Doré Lefebvre were later led out of the Centre Block to safety. 
 
 MP Doré Lefebvre worried about getting her daughter from the daycare facility on Parliament Hill. Children from the daycare were not released until about 8 p.m. 
 
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 We've run into a glitch. Please try again later. ||||| OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — A masked gunman killed a soldier standing guard at Canada's war memorial Wednesday, then stormed Parliament in an attack that was stopped cold when he was shot to death by the ceremonial sergeant-at-arms. Canada's prime minister called it the country's second terrorist attack in three days. 
 
 FILE In this March 25, 2011 file photo, Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers carries the mace from the House of Commons at the conclusion of the session in Ottawa. Two sources told The Canadian Press that Vickers... (Associated Press) 
 
 A Royal Canadian Mounted Police intervention team walks past a gate on Parliament hill in Ottawa Wednesday Oct. 22, 2014. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial has been shot by an unknown... (Associated Press) 
 
 Police converge on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct. 22, 2014. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot by an unknown gunman and people reported hearing gunfire inside... (Associated Press) 
 
 Police and paramedics tend to a soldier shot at the National Memorial near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct. 22, 2014. The soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot by an... (Associated Press) 
 
 An armed RCMP officer stands guard at 24 Sussex Dr., the official residence of the Prime Minister, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial has been shot by... (Associated Press) 
 
 Paramedics and police pull a victim away from the Canadian War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot by an unknown gunman... (Associated Press) 
 
 A Royal Canadian Mounted Police intervention team responds to a reported shooting at Parliament building in Ottawa, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial has... (Associated Press) 
 
 A Royal Canadian Mounted Police intervention team walks past a gate on Parliament hill in Ottawa Wednesday Oct. 22, 2014. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial has been shot by an unknown... (Associated Press) 
 
 Police continue to patrol a downtown street near the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, on Wednesday, October 22, 2014. A gunman shot and killed a soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa... (Associated Press) 
 
 This photo provided by the Prime Minister's office shows the head of RCMP Bob Paulson briefs Canadian prime Minister Stephen Harper on the shootings at Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct. 22,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo provided by Conservative MP Nina Grewal, members of Parliament barricade themselves in a meeting room on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, after shots were fired... (Associated Press) 
 
 An Ottawa police officer runs with his weapon drawn outside Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct. 22, 2014. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot by an unknown gunman and... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tomb guards walks at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014. The military increased security Wednesday at the Tomb of the Unknowns at... (Associated Press) 
 
 Police surround Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct. 22, 2014. A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot by an unknown gunman and people reported hearing gunfire inside the... (Associated Press) 
 
 "We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated," Prime Minister Stephen Harper vowed in an address to the nation. 
 
 Unfolding just before 10 a.m., while lawmakers were meeting in caucus rooms, the assault rocked Parliament over and over with the boom of gunfire, led MPs to barricade doors with chairs and sent people streaming from the building in fear. Harper was addressing a caucus when the attack began outside the door, but he safely escaped. 
 
 Investigators offered little information about the gunman, identified as 32-year-old petty criminal Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. But Harper said: "In the days to come we will learn about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had." 
 
 A government official told AP that Zehaf-Bibeau was a recent convert to Islam. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. 
 
 Canada was already on alert because of a deadly hit-and-run assault Monday against two Canadian soldiers by a man Harper described as an "ISIL-inspired terrorist." ISIL, or Islamic State, has called for reprisals against Canada and other Western countries that have joined the U.S.-led air campaign against the extremist group in Iraq and Syria. 
 
 Witnesses said the soldier posted at the National War Memorial, identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, was gunned down at point-blank range by a man carrying a rifle and dressed all in black, his face half-covered with a scarf. The gunman appeared to raise his arms in triumph, then entered Parliament, a few hundred yards away, where dozens of shots soon rang out, according to witnesses. 
 
 People fled the complex by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations, while others took cover inside as police with rifles and body armor took up positions outside and cordoned off the normally bustling streets around Parliament. 
 
 On Twitter, Canada's justice minister and other government officials credited 58-year-old sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers with shooting the attacker just outside the MPs' caucus rooms. Vickers serves a largely ceremonial role at the House of Commons, carrying a scepter and wearing rich green robes, white gloves and a tall imperial hat. 
 
 At least three people were treated for minor injuries. 
 
 In Washington, President Barack Obama condemned the shootings as "outrageous" and said: "We have to remain vigilant." The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa was locked down as a precaution, and security was tightened at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington. 
 
 Harper vowed that the attacks will "lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts" to keep the country safe and work with Canada's allies to fight terrorists. 
 
 Police said in the initial hours that as many as two other gunmen may have taken part in the attacks. But by late in the evening, the cordon around Parliament was lifted and police said there was no longer any threat to the public in the area. 
 
 Court records that appear to be the gunman's show that he had a long rap sheet, with a string of convictions for assault, robbery, drug and weapons offenses, and other crimes. 
 
 Tony Zobl said he witnessed the Canadian soldier being gunned down from his fourth-floor window directly above the National War Memorial, a 70-foot, arched granite cenotaph, or tomb, with bronze sculptures commemorating World War I. 
 
 "I looked out the window and saw a shooter, a man dressed all in black with a kerchief over his nose and mouth and something over his head as well, holding a rifle and shooting an honor guard in front of the cenotaph point-blank, twice," Zobl told the Canadian Press news agency. "The honor guard dropped to the ground, and the shooter kind of raised his arms in triumph holding the rifle." 
 
 The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. had video of the gunman going to his car alone with his weapon after the shooting at the memorial. The car was later spotted parked in front of Parliament Hill, just down the block. 
 
 Cabinet minister Tony Clement tweeted that at least 30 shots were heard inside Parliament, where Conservative and Liberal MPs were holding their weekly caucus meetings. 
 
 "I'm safe locked in a office awaiting security," Kyle Seeback, another member of Parliament, tweeted. 
 
 "I was just taking off my jacket to go into caucus. I hear this pop, pop, pop. Possibly 10 shots, don't really know. Thought it was dynamite or construction rather than anything else," said John McKay, a member of Parliament. 
 
 He said security guards then came rushing down the halls, herding them toward the back of the buildings. 
 
 "And then we started talking to another woman and she was apparently inside the library of Parliament, saw the fellow, wearing a hoodie, carrying a gun," McKay said, "and then the implications of this start to sink in." 
 
 The attack came two days after a recent convert to Islam killed one Canadian soldier and injured another with his car before being shot to death by police. The killer had been on the radar of federal investigators, who feared he had jihadist ambitions and seized his passport when he tried to travel to Turkey. 
 
 Canada had raised its domestic terror threat level from low to medium Tuesday because of what it called "an increase in general chatter from radical Islamist organizations." As recently as Tuesday, Canada sent eight fighter jets to the Mideast to join the battle against Islamic State. 
 
 After the shootings, officials canceled two events in Toronto honoring Pakistani teenager and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, including one in which she was supposed to receive honorary Canadian citizenship. She was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in 2012 for supporting schooling for girls. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writer Benjamin Shingler also contributed to this report. ||||| 
 
 Sonja Puzic, CTVNews.ca 
 
 
 
 
 
 Two “despicable attacks” on Canadian soldiers this week will not weaken the country’s resolve to fight terrorism at home and abroad, a sombre Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday. 
 
 Harper addressed the nation hours after a young soldier was gunned down at the National War Memorial in Ottawa and dozens of shots fired inside Parliament ended with the shooter’s death. 
 
 The attacks in Ottawa occurred just two days after a Quebec soldier was killed in what Harper called an Islamic State-inspired attack in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, not far from Montreal. The suspect in that case was killed by police after brief chase. 
 
 Harper said more information about the “terrorist” killed in Ottawa will surface in the coming days. CTV News has confirmed that the suspect in Wednesday’s attack is Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a Canadian citizen born in 1982. 
 
 “This week’s events are a grim reminder that Canada is not immune to the types of terrorist attacks we have seen elsewhere around the world,” the prime minister said. 
 
 “We are also reminded that attacks on our security personnel and on our institutions of governments are by their very nature attacks on our country, on our values, on our society, on us Canadians as a free and democratic people who embrace human dignity for all,” he said. 
 
 “But let there be no misunderstanding -- we will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated.” 
 
 Harper said the attacks will only strengthen Canada’s resolve and lead the government to “redouble our efforts and those of our national security agencies to take all necessary steps to identify and counter threats and keep Canada safe here at home.” 
 
 National Defence Minister Rob Nicholson echoed Harper in a statement issued late Wednesday, saying that Canada’s deployments in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led fight against ISIS “will continue unimpeded.” 
 
 The prime minister offered his condolences to the friends and family of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, the reservist who was “murdered in cold blood” Wednesday while standing guard at the war memorial. Harper also praised the passersby and first responders who tried to save his life. 
 
 Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair called the shootings "a cowardly attack designed to strike at the heart of our democracy, the heart of who we are." 
 
 But he said Canadians will once again wake up in a country “blessed by love, diversity and peace.” 
 
 RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson said Thursday that Zehaf-Bibeau had applied for a passport, and police were doing background checks. Zehaf-Bibeau was not on the list of “high-risk travellers” being tracked by Canadian authorities, Paulson said. 
 
 Court records show that a Michael Joseph Zehaf-Bibeau was accused of robbery in Vancouver in late 2011. He was found guilty of uttering threats, a lesser charge. 
 
 Panic on the Hill 
 
 The chaos in Ottawa began around 9:52 a.m. Wednesday, when police received multiple 911 calls about a shooting at the National War Memorial. 
 
 When paramedics and police arrived, the honour guard -- later identified as Cirillo -- was on the ground, surrounded by people who tried to help him. 
 
 A short time later, the gunman entered Parliament’s Centre Block and dozens ofshots rang out as MPs, staff and reporters rushed to safety. The suspect was gunned down by Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms for the House of Commons. 
 
 Three other people were taken to the Ottawa Hospital after the shootings. They were all discharged by Wednesday evening. 
 
 Parliament Hill and Ottawa’s downtown core were under lockdown for hours after the shootings, but police have not said if other suspects were still on the loose. 
 
 Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau said residents need to stay “vigilant” and report any suspicious activity to police. But he did not directly answer questions from reporters about the possibility that another shooter -- or shooters -- were still at large. 
 
 Earlier Wednesday, Ottawa police Const. Marc Soucy said officers believe there may be more than one assailant. He said that police will be assuming that any other assailants are armed. 
 
 Tony Zobl, 35, told The Canadian Press that he witnessed the soldier being gunned down from his fourth-floor office window directly above the war memorial. 
 
 "I looked out the window and saw a shooter, a man dressed all in black with a kerchief over his nose and mouth and something over his head as well, holding a rifle and shooting an honour guard in front of the Cenotaph point-blank, twice," Zobl told CP. 
 
 "It looked like the honour guard was trying to reach for the barrel of the gun. The honour guard dropped to the ground and the shooter kind of raised his arms in triumph holding the rifle." 
 
 Zobl said he then saw the shooter run up the street toward Parliament Hill. 
 
 Video captured inside Parliament showed officers filing down the empty corridor of the Hall of Honour as at least a dozen shots could be heard ringing out in the background. A security guard was reported to be injured in the shooting. 
 
 “This is a dynamic and unfolding situation,” RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud told a news conference Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 He said the attack caught the RCMP by surprise, but would not elaborate. 
 
 “If we had known that this was coming, we would have been able to disrupt it,” he said. 
 
 The RCMP also said it’s too early to say if the gunman was among the 90 or so suspected extremists being tracked by the Canadian government. 
 
 Reports of a third shooting inside the Rideau Centre, a shopping mall near Parliament Hill, turned out to be false, Bordeleau said. 
 
 “Today is a sad and tragic day for our city and our country,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said, adding that everyone is “looking for answers.” 
 
 The shooting comes two days after a man attacked two Canadian soldiers in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. One of those soldiers, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, died from his injuries. The suspect, Martin Couture-Rouleau, was shot and killed by police. 
 
 On Tuesday, Canada raised the domestic terror threat level from low to medium. 
 
 Security beefed up 
 
 The attack on Parliament Hill immediately prompted officials across the country to heighten security at government buildings, provincial legislatures and military bases. 
 
 Soldiers are also being cautioned about wearing their uniforms in public when they’re not on active duty. 
 
 U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Harper Wednesday and offered “any assistance” needed in the response to the attack, according to a tweet from the U.S. National Security Council. 
 
 Obama also expressed “the American people’s solidarity with Canada,” according to the NSC. 
 
 The president later publicly condemned the Ottawa shootings, calling them “outrageous.” 
 
 “We’re all shaken by it,” he said, adding that the U.S. is closely watching the unfolding events. 
 
 A statement from NATO’s secretary general also said that “NATO stands in solidarity with our ally Canada at this difficult time.” 
 
 With files from Marlene Leung and The Canadian Press 
 
 An earlier version of this story Wednesday incorrectly reported that Zehaf-Bibeau was on a list of “high-risk travellers” being tracked by Canadian authorities and had his passport seized. 
 
 Live updates and commentary: 
 
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– Dramatic footage taken by a Globe and Mail reporter captures an exchange of gunfire inside the seat of Canada's government. More than 30 shots can be heard as authorities inside the Parliament building exchange fire with an attacker now identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. In an evening address to the nation, Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the "brutal and violent" Ottawa shooting as a terrorist attack—the second this week—and an assault on the values of "Canadians as a free and democratic people who embrace human dignity for all," the CBC reports. "Let there be no misunderstanding—we will not be intimidated," he said. "Canada will never be intimidated." The gunman—who fatally shot 24-year-old soldier Nathan Cirillo before entering Parliament—was shot dead outside an occupied caucus room and three people were hospitalized with minor injuries, including one who was shot in the foot. After earlier reports of up to two other shooters, lockdowns around Parliament and in Ottawa's downtown core have been lifted. Police say nobody else is in custody and there is no longer any threat to the public in the area, reports the AP. The National Security Council says President Obama, who publicly condemned the attack as "outrageous," has spoken with Harper and offered "any assistance" needed, CTV reports.