Attack in Ottawa: Facts Remain Scarce But Reality of Security Threat Remains
David Inserra /
Gunshots rang out at multiple locations across Ottawa this morning, including at the War Memorial and in the Parliament buildings. Much is unknown at the moment and the operation is ongoing.
As of right now, police are reporting that one Canadian soldier, who was guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier at the War Memorial, has died. He was identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo. Other minor injuries also were reported.
One male suspect was confirmed dead, killed in a shootout inside the halls of Parliament. Police were searching for additional shooters. Much of Ottawa remained locked down and military bases and other public facilities across Canada were being closed to the public.
>>> Update: The suspected gunman has been identified by Canadian authorities as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, a recent convert to Islam who had a history of drug abuse, U.S. officials told CNN. <<<
It remains unclear what the motive of this attack is. In recent days, an individual with known radical Islamist sympathies killed one military member in a hit and run attack in Quebec and injured another before being killed by police officers.
Additionally, a spokesperson for Public Safety Canada said that the security threat level in Canada had been raised in the days prior to these events based on “an increase in general chatter from radial Islamist organizations like ISIS, Al Qaida, Al Shabaab and other who pose a clear threat to Canadians.” That said, there is no concrete evidence at the time of this writing that links this shooting in Ottawa to any Islamist terrorism.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the soldier who has been killed as well as all who have been affected by this attack, including law enforcement officers who continue to remain on the lookout for other potential shooters.
While it is too early to know much definitively about this attack, it is important to keep in mind that the U.S. and Canada face similar threats, based on our shared geography, close alliance and cooperation on security and foreign policy issues and open societies. A threat within Canada could easily be a threat to the U.S. and vice versa.
Moving forward, the U.S. and Canada must continue to build their security and intelligence cooperation. The U.S. and Canada conducted a broad border threat assessment in 2010 and as part of the Beyond the Border program starting in 2011, Canada and the U.S. agreed to work on broader “joint intelligence assessments and strengthened analytic collaboration to enhance our shared understanding of the threats our countries face.”
It isn’t clear how far these assessments went but this incident in Ottawa should redouble both our nations’ efforts to share threat information and conduct comprehensive and regularly updated threat assessments.