MP Elizabeth May and her staff are on lockdown this morning in Ottawa after at least one gunman bypassed security and shots rang out at Parliament Hill.
One gunman, who reportedly shot a soldier guarding the National War Memorial earlier this morning, is now dead after he stormed the halls of Parliament Hill around 9:50 a.m. EST, just metres from where a Conservative caucus meeting was being held.
May said she was passing through the area where the gunman was shot about 20 minutes prior to the incident.
“Eight of us are huddled together in one space, and we’ve been told to stay away from windows and doors,” May told the News at 8:35 a.m. this morning.
“I don’t know what to anticipate. At this point, time seems to have stopped.”
MPs and other witnesses on Twitter reported several shots fired inside Centre Block. MP Michelle Rempel, who was meeting with her Conservative caucus at the time of the shooting, tweeted: “Is it clear people? shots were outside caucus room”
Early reports indicate there were shooters in the area. May and her staff have confirmed that Victoria-area MPs Murray Rankin and Randall Garrison – who were meeting for their weekly caucus meeting near the shooting incident – are safe.
“We went down to check on our NDP friends down the hall before the lockdown, and as far as I know, none of them were in Centre Block at the time of the shooting,” May said.
May said she’s she’s in shock that someone with a gun could bypass security on the Hill.
“If you were trying to pick a place where this could never happen, Centre Block would be it,” she said. “It’s very upsetting and our thoughts are with the soldier who was shot and the security team keeping us safe.”
More to come.
editor@saanichnews.com
