Canada increases surveillance
October 23, 2014
At a press conference on Thursday, Canadian police officials said the suspect in Wednesday's gun attack in Ottawa, had acted alone. There was no evidence that Michael Zehaf-Bibeau had any ties to other suspects.
The police officials said the 32-year-old man had not been under surveillance before the attack, nor was he on the list of high-risk travelers that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had been investigating.
Officials said they would increase the surveillance of high-risk travelers and that they were maintaining increased vigilance.
The man's motivation for the attack was not clear.
Police said on Thursday that Zehaf-Bibeau had recently applied for a passport and was planning to travel to Syria, having undergone a process of radicalization. Officials said they had only learned of the plan when they interviewed his mother on Wednesday.
Soldier mourned as parliament returns to work
On Thursday, Canadians mourned the death of Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a 24-year-old reservist from Ontario. Flags were flown at half-staff.
Also on Thursday, the Canadian parliament resumed, giving a hero's welcome to the man credited with killing Zehaf-Bibeau.
Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers put aside his largely ceremonial duties to draw a gun on the attacker, just outside the MPs' caucus rooms. He received a lengthy standing ovation as he entered the House of Commons.
The attack saw the heart of Ottawa put into lockdown for hours, amid fears other gunmen could be on the loose.
Terrorism, says PM
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called the shooting Canada's second "terrorist attack" in three days. He has made a clear link between the Ottawa assault and another attack on Monday, when 25-year-old Martin Rouleau - a convert to Islam - ran down two soldiers with his car near Montreal, killing one of them. Rouleau was also shot dead at the scene.
On Thursday, Harper told lawmakers that he would expedite plans to toughen up security laws - including giving more powers of detention and surveillance to security agencies.
"They need to be much strengthened, and I assure you, Mr. Speaker, that work which is already under way will be expedited," he told the House of Commons.
The Globe and Mail newspaper quoted federal sources as saying that the Ottawa gunman had been recently designated a "high-risk traveler" by the Canadian government. The paper's sources said his passport had been confiscated. Initial sources suggested that Zehaf-Bibeau was a recent convert to Islam.
Gunman's mother speaks out
The gunman's mother has said she is devastated by the incident.
"No words can express the sadness we are feeling at this time. We are so sad that a man lost his life. He has lost everything and he leaves behind a family that must feel nothing but pain and sorrow," Susan Bibeau told the Associated Press, referring to the family of the dead soldier.
Bibeau said she was largely estranged from her son. "I, his mother, spoke with him last week over lunch, I had not seen him for over five years before that ... once again we are so sorry."
jr,sb/mkg (Reuters, AP, AFP)