The second attack in a week has raised concerns of a pattern
By M.D. | TORONTO
CANADA'S parliament came under attack on Wednesday from what appears to be a lone gunman, who launched two separate attacks within blocks of each other and then was killed. Although the main parliamentary building was full of MPs for weekly caucus meetings, no one was injured. The prime minister and opposition leaders were all reported safe. But a soldier standing guard at the nearby Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where the first shooting took place, died of his injuries.
The centre of Ottawa surrounding the parliamentary precinct, which also encompasses the American embassy and British high commission, was locked down for more than four hours as police pursued what they believed were multiple suspects. Police briefing reporters at midday would not be drawn on whether they were still seeking other suspects.
Terrorism is not unknown in Canada, but an attack on parliament still has the power to shock. Its impact has been compounded by an attack earlier this week on two Canadian soldiers at a military college near Montreal. The suspect behind this earlier attack is a Canadian who police say had converted to Islam and become radicalised. One of the soldiers later died. The gunman involved in Wednesday’s shooting has not yet been identified and his motivation is unclear.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which provides security on Parliament Hill, faces tough questions about how an armed man could walk across a broad expanse of lawn and enter the main parliamentary building unhindered. Although the public is allowed in the area, access has been tightened in recent years and earlier this month Canada’s security service raised the national threat level to medium from low.
In the immediate aftermath, no party tried to use the shooting to political advantage. That will inevitably change. The Conservative government led by Stephen Harper has made fighting terrorism one of its signature themes. Mr Harper’s decision to send Canadian fighter jets to Iraq is opposed by the two main opposition parties, the New Democrats and the Liberals. If the shooting is tied to radical Islam, then it will become a political football as all parties try to score points in the run-up to a general election in October 2015.
