Parliament House security tightened after Canada shootings
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has said that the shootings in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, bear the hallmarks of a terrorist attack by Islamic State, while security was raised around Parliament House in Canberra.
Canada has been rocked after at least one gunman shot and killed a soldier outside the National War Memorial before opening fire inside Canada’s Parliament.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his fellow politicians took shelter in offices and ordered told to barricade the doors.
The gunmen, unofficially identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was shot dead by the Parliament's Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.
Ms Bishop reportedly sent a text message to her Canadian counterpart John Baird at 4am.
Baird informed her that he was just 15 metres away when the gunmen was shot in the Hall of Honour, where Prime Minister Tony Abbott met Mr Harper on his recent visit.
"The body was lying just outside the door where [Baird] was”, Ms Bishop said.
"He is safe but clearly very shaken by what is a shocking incident. This is grim news indeed.”
"It is too early to say the motivation of this attack but it does have the hallmarks of a terrorist attack in the sense that, in the past, terrorist organisations, including ISIL, have indicated they would target countries like Canada, Australia or any country that opposes its murderous and brutal ideology.”
"This is a shocking event, it's clearly shaken Canada and it does remind us that this kind of violence can happen at any time."
No comments:
Post a Comment