The Canadian capital was thrown into chaos Wednesday morning after a gunman shot and killed a soldier at Ottawa's National War Memorial, then entered a Parliament building across the street, where gunfire rang out. The gunman is now dead.
3 things you need to know:
A soldier was fatally shot at the War Memorial in the Canadian capital, then shots were fired inside a Parliament building.
One suspect is dead.
The Office of the Prime Minister called the shooting an "attack" in a statement.
Watch CBC's live stream:
The shooting began at the National War Memorial, where the soldier, who was a ceremonial guard there, was hit. Moments later, gunfire was heard inside Centre Block, one of the main buildings on Parliament Hill, just a short distance from the war memorial.
A reporter for the Globe and Mail captured the sounds of repeated gunfire inside the Parliament building.
The soldier at the war memorial was killed, Ottawa Police said. The Toronto Star identified the victim as Cpl. Nathan Frank Cirillo, 24, citing family and military sources. "Social media accounts and online photos paint a picture of Cirillo as a loving father to his young son, animal lover and fitness buff," the Star writes. "Pictures depict him smiling, cuddling a dog, working out at the gym, and playing guitar."
A photo posted by Nathan Cirillo (@ncitaly) on May 5, 2014 at 5:50pm PDT
A photo posted by Nathan Cirillo (@ncitaly) on Sep 9, 2014 at 10:52am PDT
One male suspect is also dead after the shooting outside the Library of Parliament in the Centre Block, officials said.
Canadian official identified the gunman, who was killed, as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, according to the Associated Press, CTV and CBC News. Two U.S. officials told Reuters that certain U.S. agencies have been advised that the shooter was a Canadian convert to Islam.
One shooting victim succumbed to injuries. He was a member of the Canadian Forces. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his loved ones.— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) October 22, 2014
One male suspect has also been confirmed deceased. There is no further update on injuries at this time. #ottnews— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) October 22, 2014
No arrests were made. CBC Ottawa reports that Ottawa Hospital received three patients, two of whom were in stable condition Wednesday night.
Government Caucus received confirmation shortly ago that one CAF soldier was killed. A moment of silence followed.— John Williamson (@JohnW_MP) October 22, 2014
The office of the Prime Minister of Canada released a statement calling the shooting at the National War Memorial and Parliament Hill an "attack." White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said officials aren't calling it a terrorist attack. President Obama was briefed on the incident and briefly spoke with PM Harper.
President Obama condemned the "outrageous attacks," according to a White House-provided readout of the call, and reaffirmed the "close friendship and alliance" between the U.S. and Canada. Obama also offered any assistance Canada needed in response to the attacks of Oct. 22 in Ontario and Oct. 20 in Quebec.. The two leaders agreed to continue coordination between both governments moving forward, the readout says.
Speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud said that the threat level on Parliament Hill was not raised.
"We have been operating at the medium level for the past number of years and that is the level we are operating at now," said Michaud.
Earlier media reports had mistakenly said that a third shooting had occurred at or near a mall called the Rideau Centre, but officials clarified Wednesday afternoon that there was no shooting there after all. A spokesperson from the Rideau Centre told Mashable earlier Wednesday that no shots were fired inside the mall. "We are on lockdown and have a lot of panicked people here," she said at the time.
Passersby working on shooting victim. From the CBC's Jason Ho. #cbcOTT #OTTnews pic.twitter.com/mskjnJAlvE— CBC Ottawa (@CBCOttawa) October 22, 2014
As the day wore on, Members of Parliament and reporters in the building were freed from lockdown after many had spent the morning live-tweeting the attack
Malcolm Allen, an MP, tweeted during the shooting that "shots were heard outside our caucus room."
We're now in lock down on the hill as shots were heard outside our caucus room in centre block— Malcolm Allen (@Malcolm_AllenMP) October 22, 2014
D. Matthew Millar, Ottawa bureau chief for The Vancouver Observer, posted a Vine video of people evacuating from the roof of Parliament Hill:
CBC's Jason Ho said, "I had just passed war memorial and I heard a bang. I turned around and saw man holding up large gun." He added, "There was a commotion, people starting ducking and running. I ran back. People surrounding soldier doing CPR."
Witnesses said Zehaf-Bibeau jumped out of a car that had no plates.
Witness says this is the suspect's car. He says two men climbed out. No licence plates on it. pic.twitter.com/varoI6jIB1— John Ivison (@IvisonJ) October 22, 2014
Stuart Barnable, a Senate staffer who tweeted that he saw the incident happen, said the shooter was carrying a "long rifle," and his face was covered.
I saw the whole thing happen that's the suspects car. He has a rifle and covered face. Stay in offices #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/5zOh4GzkL1— Stuart Barnable (@sbarnable) October 22, 2014
A spokesperson for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the PM left Parliament Hill during the shooting.
Canadian PM's office release photo of @pmharper being briefed by Police in secure location after Ottawa shootings. pic.twitter.com/NnVEjUwiZM— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) October 22, 2014
The Twitter account for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police advised people to stay away from Parliament Hill "due to ongoing police incident." The RCMP also advised citizens in downtown Ottawa to stay away from windows and off roofs.
"Most of downtown Ottawa is in lockdown," Soucy said Wednesday afternoon. That included the U.S. embassy in Ottawa.
A video posted by Russ McD (@rustymcruss) on Oct 10, 2014 at 7:19am PDT
Wednesday's shooting comes two days after a pair of Canadian soldiers were run over in Quebec by a man with what the Associated Press described as "jihadist sympathies." One of the soldiers in Monday's incident died. Harper acknowledged that it was a possible "terror attack."
Follow @MashableNews's Twitter list of reporters and Members of Parliament on the scene