Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons Kevin Vickers reportedly killed attacker in Centre Block gunfight

Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons Kevin Vickers reportedly shot and killed 32-year-old attacker Michael Zehaf-Bibeau during a gunfight this morning in the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in an attack on the centre of government. Vickers was not injured in the volley of gunfire. Greg Peters, Usher of the Black Rod to the Senate of Canada, reportedly injured both legs after jumping from a second storey roof, while the attacker was outside his office. Peters was reportedly aiding a House of Commons Security Services  staffer, who had been shot in the leg, escape at the time. Both were treated and released from The Ottawa Hospital. A retired RCMP superintendent from Souris, Prince Edward Island, Peters, 54, is responsible for security within the Senate red chamber.

The gunfight took place in the Hall of Honour, the main entrance to the Centre Block beneath the Peace Tower, and part of the central axis of the Centre Block, joining Confederation Hall to the Library of Parliament, and providing access to the main committee rooms.

Vickers, 58, does not normally carry a sidearm, but he reportedly keeps a handgun in his office.

A 29-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Vickers joined the House of Commons as director of security operations in June 2005. He was appointed as Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons in August 2006.

As Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons, Vickers is responsible for the safety and security of the Parliament buildings and occupants, and ensuring and controlling access to the House of Commons. Most people probably knew the job better until today for its chief ceremonial function – Vickers preceding Speaker Andrew Scheer into the House of Commons before every sitting, carrying the gilded silver mace, representing royal authority and a sign that the Queen has given the House of Commons the authority to meet and decide on the laws which govern the country, and which is kept in the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms.

Parliament is supreme in a constitutional monarchy. It is a principle that dates back to at least December 1689 and the Bill of Rights passed by “the said lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, assembled at Westminster” to “resolve that William and Mary, prince and princess of Orange, be, and be declared, king and queen of England, France, and Ireland….”

Some would look back even further to King John of England signing the articles that would lead to the great council, forerunner of the British Parliament, with the Magna Carta on the meadow at Runnymede in June 1215.

Many members of the Conservative, Liberal and NDP parties were in their usual Wednesday morning caucus meetings, which had just gotten underway in many cases, when the shooting on Parliament Hill began shortly before 10 a.m. EDT. Niki  Ashton, NDP MP for the riding of Churchill in Northern Manitoba, has tweeted she is safe but in lockdown. “I’m ok. Thank you for your messages. My thoughts are with those keeping us safe,” Niki Ashton has tweeted.

During his 29-year career with the RCMP, Vickers held positions of increasing responsibility and scope, including district commander, Acadian Peninsula in northeastern New Brunswick, and director general, national contract policing branch. Vickers also served as an aide-de-camp for the lieutenant governor of New Brunswick. He is the recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, the Canada 125 Medal and the RCMP Long Service Medal, and was recognized for his work 15 years ago during the Burnt Church crisis, the lobster wars between the Mi’kmaq people of the Esgenoopetitj First Nation at Burnt Church and non-aboriginal Acadian fishermen.

Police are investigating two shootings, one at the Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the  National War Memorial in Confederation Square and one in the Hall of Honour, part of the central axis of the Centre Block, joining Confederation Hall to the Library of Parliament, and providing access to the main committee rooms. Both locations are geographically close in a compact area that forms the centre of government for Canada and commercial activity in the City of Ottawa. The dead suspect is believed to be have been involved in both shootings and no other suspects are in custody, the Ottawa Police Service says.

All Canadian Forces bases across Canada have been closed to public access and the Royal Alexandra Bridge, the inter-provincial bridge between Ottawa in Ontario and Gatineau in Quebec, has been closed. Joint Task Force 2 (JTF 2), the highest readiness and most precise combat and counter terrorism specialized unit within the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command – the successors of the legendary U.S. and Canadian combined 1st Special Service Force from the Second World War or, as it was commonly known, “the Devil’s Brigade” – is being mobilized in Ottawa. Stephen Day, former head of JTF 2, told CBC the attack in Ottawa appears to be sophisticated and a clear attempt to psychologically destabilize the populace. Day said police, the RCMP, the federal police force, and the local Ottawa Police Service, would be lead agency initially, with JTF 2 in planning preparations. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is on elevated alert status. All MP’s constituency offices have been closed across the country.

Defence officials have advised all Canadian Forces personnel not engaged in active duty today to not wear their uniforms after work on errands on their way home, for instance, but instead to wear civilian clothing, as Canadian soldier appear to be deliberately targeted.

Cpl. Nathan Frank Cirillo, 24, a reservist from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s) in Hamilton, Ontario, part of an honour guard at the Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Confederation Square, was shot and died at The Ottawa Hospital. A civilian passerby performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the wounded reservist. The Argylls are an infantry unit of the Canadian Forces primary reserves.

The shootings in Ottawa today came less than 48 hours after 25-year-old hit-and-run suspect Martin Couture Rouleau is believed to have aimed his vehicle at two members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who were on foot in a strip mall parking lot, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, located about 50 kilometres southeast of Montreal. One of the soldiers, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, 53, later died in hospital, while the other suffered minor injuries. Rouleau was shot and killed after a police chase.

Globe and Mail reporter Josh Wingrove’s extraordinary 57-second video of the gunfight, filled with the sound of more than 30 rounds of percussive gunfire, is available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrGqoISd-do&sns=tw

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