Canada's Stephen Harper Vows Tighter Security After Parliament Attack

Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged to boost security forces' surveillance and detention powers on Thursday, a day after a gunman killed a soldier and raced through parliament before being shot dead.

Addressing the House of Commons just meters from the spot where the gunman, a reported convert to Islam, was shot dead on Wednesday, Harper said lawmakers would expedite new powers to counter the threat of radicals.

"The objective of these attacks was to instill fear and panic in our country," Harper said. "Canadians will not be intimidated. We will be vigilant, but we will not run scared. We will be prudent but we will not panic."

Harper pledged to speed up a plan already under way to bolster Canadian laws and police powers in the areas of "surveillance, detention and arrest."

Harper said the attack, which followed an incident on Monday when a convert to Islam ran over two Canadian soldiers with his car, killing one, would strengthen Canada's response to "terrorist organizations."

The attacks in Ottawa and Quebec took place as the Canadian government prepared to boost the powers of its spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Public Safety Minister Stephen Blaney said last week the new legislation would let the agency track and investigate potential terrorists when they travel abroad and ultimately prosecute them.

Police said on Thursday they were satisfied that only one person was involved in the attack. A source familiar with the matter said police were investigating a man named Michael Zehaf-Bibeau as the possible suspect. US officials said they had been advised he was a convert to Islam.

Police declined to release further information on their investigation ahead of a 3:30 p.m. ET (1930 GMT) press briefing.

MOTHER'S APOLOGY

A woman who identified herself as the suspect's mother issued a statement on Thursday apologizing for her son's apparent actions.

"No words can express the sadness we are feeling at this time," said the woman, Susan Bibeau, in a statement provided to the Associated Press. "We send our deepest condolences."

Bibeau stayed at a homeless shelter in a downtrodden part of Ottawa for at least a week before the attack, multiple people at the site said on Thursday.

"This whole thing is devastating for people here," said a resident of the mission who identified himself as Jean Claude. "What would make a guy do something like that?"

Shelter officials declined to comment on whether or how long Bibeau stayed there, citing the police investigation.

TENSE MOMENT

While parliament resumed, tensions in Canada's capital remained high on Thursday.

Police arrested a man at gunpoint just steps from the prime minister as Harper and his wife were laying a wreath at the National War Memorial to commemorate the killing of the soldier there, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, 24.

Police, shouting and with guns drawn, surrounded a man and ordered him to the ground. Ottawa Police said the man was arrested for "disturbing the crime scene" at the war memorial. The man's intent was not immediately clear.

Harper was pulled back from the crime scene in a tense moment that was captured on camera and seen by throngs of people and politicians who had gathered at the war memorial.

Some vowed not to let the shooting mar the Canadian capital's open atmosphere, where government buildings are far more open to the public than in the neighboring United States.

"We have to be very introspective before we make any rash decisions," Peter MacKay, minister of justice, told reporters. "We're not talking about closing off the hill, we're talking about ways we can ensure greater security."

ONE GUNMAN

Wednesday's attack came a day after Canada sent six jets to take part in air strikes against Islamic State fighters who have taken over parts of Iraq.

A leading British Islamist preacher, Anjem Choudary, rejected assertions he had influenced either attack but warned that Western military involvement in the Middle East could inspire similar attacks. Monday's attacker followed Choudary on Twitter.

"People need to wake up to the reality that their own countries are being dragged into a war far away - the Syrian and Iraqi people are not occupying Britain or Canada - so they are seen as the aggressors," Choudary told Reuters.


Defense Minister Rob Nicholson said Canada's deployment to Iraq would go on unimpeded.

Tighter security was evident all over the sprawling parliamentary zone in downtown Ottawa. Armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers stood outside the door where the gunman rushed in on Wednesday.

The flag flying over Parliament's Centre Block, where the gunman had burst in on Wednesday morning, was at half mast.

Bullet holes could be seen in the carpet just inside the front door and in the masonry in the hallway where he was shot.

The Canadian parliament's sergeant-at-arms, Kevin Vickers, given a prolonged standing ovation by lawmakers who credited him with shooting dead the attacker, said he was moved by the attention but declined to comment on his specific actions, saying they were part of an ongoing investigation.

"I am very touched by the attention directed at me following yesterday's events," said Vickers, best known to the Canadian public for carrying a large ceremonial mace into the parliament building at the start of sessions. "However, I have the support of a remarkable security team."