Canadian Guard Shot in Attack at Parliament Hill in Ottawa

At least two gunmen traumatized the heart of the Canadian government on Wednesday, with one shooting a military guard at the National War Memorial and then entering the adjacent Parliament building, where multiple rounds were fired.

A shooting also was reported at a nearby shopping mall.

Police officers rushed to secure the Parliament building and move occupants to safety as they hunted for what Canadian news reports said were possibly two or three assailants, in what had the appearance of a coordinated attack.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that one assailant was killed. The condition of the soldier who was shot was not immediately clear. Witnesses reported earlier they believed the soldier had been killed.

Marc Coucy, a representative of the Ottawa Police Service, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that officers were looking for “multiple suspects” in shootings at three locations.

The shootings came amid heightened concern about terrorist attacks in Canada, two days after a radical jihadist convert ran over two soldiers at a suburban Montreal strip mall, killing one of them. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an outspoken critic of the Islamic State movement and other militant groups, has been considering the introduction of new antiterrorism legislation.

The shootings began about 10 a.m., just as the leaders of Parliament were holding their weekly meetings, suggesting the possibility of deliberate timing. Many of the lawmakers were rushed into secure rooms in the basement by guards.

“I heard the shots as I was walking into a conference meeting,” said Chrystia Freeland, a member of Parliament from Toronto, speaking by cell phone from a windowless room in the basement. “I’m surrounded by more than a dozen House of Commons security guards.”

Prime Minister Harper had been inside Parliament at the time of the shooting but was evacuated safely, Canadian news reports said. The entire area, known as Parliament Hill, was placed on lockdown as police reinforcements arrived.

Witnesses reported seeing the gunman who shot the soldier running into the House of Commons, firing dozens of rounds. The assailant’s identity and motive were not clear.

It also was unclear whether any other people were hurt, but an Ottawa City bus converted to a medical treatment unit was seen moving to the area.

Journalists covering Parliament were ordered by police officers at gunpoint to lie on the floor in the foyer in front of the House of Commons, The Globe and Mail reported on its website. The Globe and Mail’s correspondent, Josh Wingrove, said in a series of Twitter posts that the hallways were filled with the smell of gunpowder.