A clearer picture emerged Wednesday night of the chaos that engulfed downtown Ottawa throughout the day, with Canadian authorities releasing the name of the Islamic convert that killed a soldier and wounded two others before being killed.
U.S. government sources identified 32-year-old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau as the man killed by security personnel inside the Canadian parliament. The National Post reports that the masked Zehaf-Bibeau shot and killed 24-year-old Corporal Nathan Cirillo with a shotgun as the soldier guarded the National War Memorial, before sprinting to the Canadian parliament building and opening fire inside. Reports of a shooting at nearby shopping mall Rideau Centre proved inaccurate.
Throughout the afternoon Canadian police had frantically searched for additional gunmen, telling reporters repeatedly that they did not believe Zehaf-Bibeau acted alone. They have since refused to confirm or deny whether Zehaf-Bibeau acted alone, calling the situation “dynamic” and “unfolding.”