A senator in the Canadian Parliament has described to Sky News how he and his colleagues took cover as an attacker stormed in and started firing.
Speaking from inside the building in lockdown, Senator Jim Munson said he was inside a committee room with other politicians when security guards ran in and started to scream "Get out, get out, there is a gunman in the building".
He did not know at that stage that an attacker had shot a soldier at the nearby war memorial in central Ottawa, inflicting injuries that were to prove fatal.
"We began to leave, but then we were stopped because of a volley of gunshots that we heard outside the parliament, and of course inside there was a volley of gunshots," he said.
"The caucus meeting was going on with the New Democratic Party and they could smell the gunpowder."
Mr Munson added that he had heard reports that the man who tackled this gunman was the Sergeant-at-Arms in the building.
"He is a pretty famous gentleman," he said. "His name is Kevin Vickers, he is a former Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman, a very big man and fearless.
"If he did this then he's a hero."
He described the soldier's death as a tragedy.
However, he said that the number of people present while the attack was taking place meant the casualties could have been a lot higher.
"This is caucus time on Parliament Hill and all three parties have everybody in one room," he said.
He also revealed that his wife had witnessed the shooting of the soldier after dropping him off outside the parliament building.
"She ... was in behind, believe it or not, the little black car that was stopped right beside the war memorial on the main thoroughfare on Wellington Street," he said.
"She saw this one gentleman get out with blankets ... and he walked towards the war memorial and she glimpsed some light and obviously that was the shot, the unarmed soldier doing sentry duty at the war memorial.
"But she is safe and my family is safe."
Charlie Angus of the New Democratic Party said he thought: "Thank God this guy wasn't very bright".
"If he had come an hour later everybody would have been piling out into the main hall with the national media," he told Sky News.
"When he came in we were meeting in our caucuses and he may not have realised we were there."
1/24
-
Gallery: Ottawa In Lockdown After Attacks
At around 10am on Wednesday, 32-year-old petty criminal Michael Zehaf-Bibeau killed a soldier standing guard at Ottawa's war memorial
-
He then ran into the nearby Canadian Parliament building where he was shot to death by the ceremonial Sergeant-at-Arms
-
Conservative and Liberal MPs were holding their weekly caucus meetings at the time
-
Cabinet minister Tony Clement tweeted that at least 30 shots were heard inside Parliament
-
In a national TV statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: "We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated"
-
It was the second deadly attack in three days against members of the Canadian military
-
On Monday, a man Harper described as an "ISIL-inspired terrorist" ran over two soldiers in Quebec, killing one and injuring another before being shot to death by police
-
Witnesses said the soldier killed in the latest attack, Cpl Nathan Cirillo, was gunned down at point-blank range by a man carrying a rifle and dressed all in black, his face half-covered with a scarf
-
One said: "The honour guard dropped to the ground, and the shooter kind of raised his arms in triumph holding the rifle"
-
At least three people were treated for minor injuries
-
Some people fled the complex by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations
-
Others took cover inside as police with rifles and body armour took up positions outside and cordoned off streets
-
The two attacks have raised fears Canada is being targeted for reprisals for joining the air campaign against Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria
-
The National War Memorial contains an arched granite cenotaph, or tomb, with bronze sculptures commemorating World War I
-
The gunman had convictions for assault, robbery, drug and weapons offences, and other crimes. Swipe through for more images of the attack and its aftermath
Outside parliament, John McKay said: I was just taking off my jacket to go into caucus when I heard pop, pop, pop - possibly 10 shots.
"I thought it was dynamite or construction rather than anything else."
He added: "This is the kind of day that changes everything."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Canada Senator Describes Terror In Parliament
Dengan url
http://malurasanya.blogspot.com/2014/10/canada-senator-describes-terror-in.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Canada Senator Describes Terror In Parliament
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Canada Senator Describes Terror In Parliament
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar