Terrorist Attacks in Canada Connected to Airstrikes in Middle East
Thursday, October 23rd, 2014October 23, 2014
Canada’s Parliament met this morning, one day after a gunman, later discovered to be a convert to radical Islam, rampaged through its halls before being shot dead by the sergeant at arms. The body opened with applause for the sergeant and a moment of silence for the soldier shot and killed yesterday by the gunman. Noting that the objective of the attacks was to instill fear and panic in Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared, “We will be vigilant, but we will not run scared. We will be prudent, but we will not panic. And as for the business of government, well here we are, in our seats, in our chamber, in the very heart of our democracy and our work goes on.”
Yesterday, a gunman armed with a rifle fired dozens of rounds inside the Parliament building in Ottawa, sending MP’s (members of Parliament) to the floor and the entire area, known as Parliament Hill, into lockdown. In an exchange of gunfire with the Parliamentary sergeant at arms, Kevin Vickers, the gunman was shot and killed. Before running into the building, the gunman shot at soldiers standing guard at the National War Memorial, killing one and wounding another. Security officials have confirmed that terrorism was the objective of the attack.
On October 20, another Canadian soldier was killed and a second soldier injured when a radical Muslim convert deliberately ran them down with his car in a Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, parking lot in what in what government officials described as “the violent expression of an extremist ideology.” The attacker was subsequently shot and killed by police. Security officials connected both attacks to the fact that the Canadian Parliament voted on October 8 to authorize air strikes against ISIS in Iraq, joining the U.S.-led bombing campaign.
Additional World Book articles:
- Canada, Government of
- Syria: The Roots of a Rebellion (a Special Report)
- Terrorism: America’s New Enemy (a Special Report)