Canada praise to House guard over shooting

Canadian House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers watches as parliament gives him a standing ovation on October 23, 2014, in Ottawa. Vickers, a day earlier, had put aside his ceremonial duties to draw a gun and take down an assailant. FILE PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • On Wednesday, a man shot and killed a Canadian soldier who was mounting a ceremonial guard at a war memorial in downtown Ottawa before storming into the nearby parliament building.
  • Shots rang out as he rampaged through the halls of the building, and Mr Vickers has been credited with taking him down.

OTTAWA

Canada’s parliament reopened Thursday and gave a hero’s welcome to Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, who a day earlier had put aside his ceremonial duties to draw a gun and take down an assailant.

Applause rang out for the guardian of the cradle of Canada’s democracy — who bears the assembly’s ceremonial mace — followed by a prayer, the national anthem, a moment of silence.

“The objective of these attacks was to instill fear and panic in our country and to interrupt the business of government,” Mr Harper said in the Commons.

“Well, members, as I said yesterday, Canadians will not be intimidated.

“We will be vigilant but we will not run scared. We will be prudent but we will not panic and as for the business of government, well, here we are, in our seats, in our chamber in the very heart of our democracy and our work.”

Mr Harper then crossed the floor of the Commons to shake Mr Vickers’ hand, and hug opposition leaders.

HIGHTENED SECURITY

On Wednesday, a man shot and killed a Canadian soldier who was mounting a ceremonial guard at a war memorial in downtown Ottawa before storming into the nearby parliament building.

Shots rang out as he rampaged through the halls of the building, and Mr Vickers has been credited with taking him down.

Meanwhile, a man was arrested and a gun was seized from a nearby transit bus in Canada’s Atlantic port city of Halifax amid heightened security following an attack in Ottawa, police said Thursday.

The city is home to the Canadian navy’s Atlantic fleet. “We can confirm we have arrested a man on Argyle St. at 11:08 am and recovered a firearm on a metro transit bus nearby,” the Halifax police said in a Twitter message. Police added that the man was “in custody after report of a gun left on a Halifax Transit bus.”

Earlier, authorities had said they were investigating a call about “a man carrying a rifle in the downtown core” of the city.

“He was reported to be wearing black cargo pants and an ear piece and was concealing what is reported to be a rifle wrapped in black cloth,” said a police statement.