Several shots have been fired outside and inside the nation's parliament in Ottawa.
Witnesses reported seeing a gunman firing at the Ottawa War Memorial and then running toward the government buildings, where more shots were heard.
A soldier has been wounded in the attack, Canadian media report.
The incident came hours after Canada raised its terror threat level from low to medium. A soldier was killed in a hit-and-run earlier in the week.
"Shots fired at War Memorial at 9:52am today; one person injured," Ottawa Police tweeted on Wednesday as a witness reported seeing authorities search from room to room for the suspect.
The gunman fired on soldiers guarding Canada's main war memorial and then ran into the parliament.
Ministry spokesman Jean-Christophe de Le Rue said on Tuesday that the increased level "means that intelligence has indicated that an individual or group within Canada or abroad has the intent and capability to commit an act of terrorism".
On Tuesday a Muslim convert was killed by Quebec police after deliberately hitting two soldiers in his car, killing one and injuring another.
A minister said it was a "terrible act of violence against our country".
Court documents obtained by CBC News show that Zehaf-Bibeau pleaded guilty to charges including drug possession and robbery.
Zehaf-Bibeau, a Canadian born in 1982, was charged with drug possession in 2004.
A police officer secures the scene of a shooting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 22, 2014. Nearby, police vehicles surround the National War Memorial after Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a reservist on duty Wednesday, was fatally wounded in a brazen attack. 1 of 21 He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
Zehaf-Bibeau was in trouble with the law again in 2011, this time in British Columbia.
Following a bank robbery in Vancouver, Zehaf-Bibeau was charged with robbery and uttering threats. He was found guilty of the lesser charge of uttering threats and sentenced to one day in jail, with credit for 66 days already served, according to court documents.
Current information: 1 gunman shot dead in parliament, 1 other on the loose, 1 soldier wounded (currently receiving medical attention) at the War Memorial, parliament evacuated and all people evacuated in secure location, suspects car on the hill with no plates.
3 people confirmed in hospital with 2 in stable condition, requests on soldiers condition to be directed at ministry of defense.
I live 5 minutes from the hill, this is happening for real. I've never seen this many cops cars in my life.. They just said on he radio our sergeant at arms of the House of Commons Kevin Vickers has shot and killed the assailant. He is the best shooter out of all the 150+ security officers on staff.
Hero.
Update, they are now saying here is another shooting at the Rideau centre. This is possibly not over.
- Canadian Soldier shot today in Canada's capital city of Ottawa at the Parliament Buildings. - 2 days days 2 Canadian Soldiers run down in Montreal (200km from Ottawa) with 1 dead.
- stories of multiple shooters. - all canadian leaders are safe. - 1 shooter confirmed dead in the Canadian Parliament buildings.
right now, people are unsure of the motive of the act in Ottawa.
Parliament Hill in Ottawa is a huge public space. It'll be a crying shame if it gets shutdown for an extended period of time and becomes a "military zone".
A Globe and Mail Reporter has a "hand held cam" of the incident.
Because the ceilings are so high and the hallways are so huge. If someone fires a gun the echo would be heard for great distances and i could see 1 shot being mistaken for multiple shots.
I did like the fact that I had to go through 2 blockades just to get into work... I don't even work on parliament hill, so they're definitely casting a wide net.
On October 23 2014 00:28 SetGuitarsToKill wrote: Not "possible"! Confirmed shooter INSIDE Parliament, and possibility of multiple with one soldier confirmed shot.
the shooter is confirmed, the terrorist angle isnt clear. There was the 2006 plot to attack parliament that was broken up by the police http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Ontario_terrorism_plot but so far there is only sort of tangential links to Muslimly things via the Quebec attack. Until they identify the corpse in Ottawa and trace his history its impossible to know.
On October 23 2014 00:33 psychopat wrote: I did like the fact that I had to go through 2 blockades just to get into work... I don't even work on parliament hill, so they're definitely casting a wide net.
If you're anyway near Rideau centre leave area now heading east or south
Don't event speculate the motives at this point. Its going to be a day or before we know anything real.
On October 23 2014 00:33 psychopat wrote: I did like the fact that I had to go through 2 blockades just to get into work... I don't even work on parliament hill, so they're definitely casting a wide net.
During the man hunt for the Boston Bomber they shut down whole sections of where I work. It was sort of amazing how much no one cared and just let the police do their thing. Plus they did buy that one family milk, which was adorable.
They just played audio on team 1200 radio from inside the House of Commons during the shooting, incredibly chilling I'll try and find it when I get home.
It is believed to be a botched attack since the guy(s) walked right by the room where the government was holding a meeting. Might be in reaction to the attack that happened earlier this week at St-Jean sur Richelieu's military base.
EMTs were doing CPR on the shot soldier. so that is very bad because its the last thing they do before you are declared dead.
Witnesses saw 1 thin gunman exit a Toyota Corolla with no license plates. According to these witnesses he carried a very large gun. multiple police told multiple reporters the Corolla is a crime scene.
On October 23 2014 00:51 Plansix wrote: Don't event speculate the motives at this point. Its going to be a day or before we know anything real.
speculation will run wild. it is the nature of this shooting.
the Soldier shot was standing guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. this is very symbolic. 2 days ago 2 canadian soldiers were run over in Montreal.