OTTAWA: The gunman involved in a shoot-out in Canada’s legislature Wednesday was a native-born Canadian who had recently converted to Islam.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, who has a history of drug and robbery charges, has been identified as the man who shot and killed a soldier standing guard at an Ottawa war memorial, according to a US law enforcement official who spoke on condition on anonymity. After shooting the soldier, identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, Zehaf-Bibeau made his way into the country’s main legislature across the street, where he was shot dead by security officials. Witnesses said they heard at least a dozen shots in the building.
Zehaf-Bibeau was known to authorities and had his passport seized because he was considered a high-risk traveller, according to the Globe and Mail. Zehaf-Bibeau had been born Michael Joseph Hall but had changed his name, Reuters has reported. Sherley Goodgie, a spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, declined to comment on the identity of the suspect.
“Fellow Canadians, in the days to come we will learn more about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a televised address to the nation last night. “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 incident marks the second killing this week of a Canadian soldier.
Earlier, two Canadian armed forces members were hit by a car in a mall parking lot near Montreal by someone who authorities say had been a native born Canadian who had become “radicalised.” Martin Rouleau, 25, the suspect in that killing, was shot dead by police after a car chase.
According to the Postmedia news agency, Zehaf-Bibeau was born in Quebec but had a history of moving in recent years, including a stop in Vancouver. He also had a long criminal record, charged with possession of marijuana and phencyclidin and a robbery in Vancouver in 2011, the news agency reported.
