A soldier was shot at the National War Memorial by an unknown assailant Wednesday morning and there are reports of 30 to 50 shots of gunfire inside the halls of Parliament.
“Gunman at Parliament’s Centre Block has been shot and killed,” Conservative MP Bernard Trottier tweeted at 10:30 a.m. Tory MP Bob Zimmer also reported the same. Those reports are unconfirmed as police are still actively searching the area and say it is “not a secure scene” as there may be multiple shooters.
Police have expanded their perimeter and say they are actively investigating “several shooting incidents in downtown Ottawa.” Police are also asking citizens to not tweet the locations of the officers involved.
Two sources told The Canadian Press that Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms for the House of Commons and 29-year RCMP veteran, shot a gunman. Both CBC and CTV are reporting a single gunman has been confirmed dead.
In video taken within Parliament, about a dozen gunshots can be heard within the halls.
Witnesses reported hearing shots in different corridors of Parliament and some fled the building by using the scaffolding erected for renovations.
After 11 a.m., there were more unconfirmed reports of more gunshots, this time near the Chateau Laurier hotel, northeast of Parliament.
Several medics were performing CPR on the soldier before he was taken away by ambulance.
“There is a shooter on the loose,” a police officer in the area told the Post‘s John Ivison, shortly after 10 a.m.
Parliament is currently under lockdown. The PMO says Prime Minister Stephen Harper is safe and has left Parliament Hill for an unknown location. Both NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau have been reported safe.
One suspect was described as “5’9-5’10, overweight and wearing a dark jacket, with a white scarf around his face,” by Stuart Barnable, a Liberal staffer who said he witnessed the events from East Block.
A Dutch tourist said he heard at least four shot and say the assailant running towards Parliament Hill, carrying a large rife.
A Toyota Corolla, with no plates on it, was left outside of Parliament Hill. Multiple witnesses said they saw a gunman get out of it and attack the soldier.
Chuck Bronley of Ottawa said he was certain the victims was one of the ceremonial guards at the War Memorial.
Reports of at least one active shooter sparked chaos in Canada’s Parliament as MPs — and the Prime Minister — meet just steps away from where a gunmen opened fire.
Reporters and staffers grabbing breakfast and coffee were ushered in to the fifth floor cafeteria as security confirmed that there was an active shooter on the 2nd floor.
Huddled into a corner, with some staffers chanting prayers and others trying to laugh off the fear, two dozen Parliament Hill workers rapidly checked Twitter as reports circulated that one or two gunmen may still be on the loose.
Many reporters had been in the Hall of Honour — not far from where the gunman later opened fire — when the first shooting occurred. Parliament Hill then went on lockdown.
For the staffers huddled there, it was impossible to know the situation. Reports circulated of active shooters as cooks, unarmed security and an assortment of others huddled under counters.
A Liberal party staffer locked in an office on Parliament Hill said Justin Trudeau was in Centre Block for a 10 a.m. caucus meeting when shots broke out.
“I don’t know where he is, but I’m told he’s in a secure location,” the staffer said around 11 a.m.

Ottawa police say they received a report of gunfire at 9:52 a.m.
The RCMP is advising Ottawa residents “to stay away from windows and off roofs due to [the] ongoing police incident.”
All Ottawa police stations have been closed as a result of the shooting. Military bases throughout Canada have also been placed under lockdown.
The incident comes two days after a Canadian soldier was struck by a car and killed by a man with jihadist sympathies.
Breaking news. More details to follow.