The gunman behind a rampage in downtown Ottawa, Canada is dead along with a soldier shot during the gunman’s initial volley.
The soldier was a ceremonial sentry guarding the National War Memorial. Ottawa police confirmed the soldier died at the hospital from gunshot wounds.
The gunman, whose name is being withheld by police, died after engaging in a gun battle with Parliament Hill security and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police inside the Centre Block of Parliament Hill. The battle took place outside the doors where the Conservative and NDP caucuses were meeting.
The gunman was just outside the door where Canada’s Prime Minster, Stephen Harper, was meeting with officials. Security was able to rush Harper out of a back entrance away from the shooter.
“A series of gunshots rang out and we realized they were right on the other side of the door. And it isn’t a very strong door. We put up these flimsy little tables to get people behind and get them under chairs. We wanted to make sure that everyone was safe,” Member of Parliament Charlie Angus told the Ottawa Citizen.
Witnesses inside Centre Block say between 30 and 50 shots were heard during the gun battle. Witnesses at the initial shooting site said that the gunman just jumped from a car with a rifle.
“I heard a bunch of pops and I looked over at the War Memorial and I saw a man with a rifle shooting at innocent people,” construction worker Matthew Blais said. “We ducked for cover. Then we saw him jump into a green car and head up the street. He parked right in front of Parliament and ran into the building.”
The attack comes days after an Islamic extremist committed a hit and run attack on Canadian soldiers.
Canada is scheduled to begin bombing runs against ISIS with the United States this week.
Police are on the hunt for several suspects after a series of shootings took place in three locations in Ottawa, including the Parliament building.
Witnesses reported a gunman shooting and killing a military guard posted at the National War Museum, then entering the adjacent Parliament building where multiple shots were heard around 10 a.m. Wednesday morning. Shots were also reported at the Rideau Centre shopping center, located only a few blocks away from the Parliament building.
The attacks were reported hours after Canada raised its terror threat level due to the death of another soldier on Monday. The soldier was killed by a radical jihadist.
At this time there is no confirmation that any of this week’s attacks are linked to ISIS or any terrorist organization.
A Canadian family of six who was pro-Israel and showing support for Israel in downtown Calgary was attacked by a group of 100 pro-terrorist protesters and beaten.
The crowd chanted a variety of anti-Semitic slogans including “Kill Jews” as they circled the family and would not let them escape. A 22-year-old woman and a 52-year-old woman who was recovering from surgery were the most severely beaten by the mob.
Samantha Hamilton, the 22-year-old victim, told the Free Beacon that the protesters who told her that “Hitler should have finished you off.”
“I heard my mother screaming because six or seven guys had jumped on my brother,” who is 19 years old, Hamilton recalled. “He had a Star of David on his shirt and they were ripping it off, biting him, and scratching him, and stomping on him on the ground.”
Her brother suffered a concussion from the assault.
Calgary police arrived and the attack was stopped but none of the pro-terrorist attackers were arrested for their actions.
The city council of a Canadian town canceled an event in a city-owned facility because they did not want to be associated with the Christian beliefs of Chick-Fil-A.
An event center in Nanaimo, British Columbia was scheduled to be rented out to a Georgia-based leadership organization that was putting on a simulcast for business leaders to develop their skills. The event was sponsored in part by Chick-Fil-A. When the town’s city council discovered the restaurant was a co-sponsor, they voted 8-1 to cancel the event.
City Council member Jim Kipp said that Christian beliefs were the same as the Boko Haram terrorists killing thousands in Nigeria. He said that Biblical Christianity was “organized crime.”
“I find [Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy’s beliefs] almost to be a criminal point of view in this day and age,” he claimed.
City staff told the council members that the event had nothing to do with the Christian beliefs of the restaurant’s president, but the council members were not interested in the information.
A column in the Tornado Sun newspaper called the council’s actions “shocking bigotry” against Christianity.
Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, wrote that the Gates Foundation had decided not to fund abortions anywhere in the world.
“I understand why there is so much emotion,” Gates wrote, “Conflating these issues will slow down progress for tens of millions of women. That is why I when I get asked [about] my views on abortion I say that like everyone, I struggle with the issue, but I’ve decided not to engage on it publicly and the Gates Foundation has decided not to fund abortion.”
Gates also reiterated her position during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper when journalists focused on the abortion issue. Canada’s wide-open abortion policy has virtually no limits on how a woman may end her child’s life via abortion.
Pro-abortion groups attacked Gates, saying that her actions were “stigmatizing abortion.” The groups also attacked Gates saying that because she and the Foundation do not support abortion, it causes women around the world to die when it wouldn’t happen if they funded abortion services.
The Gates Foundation includes a Global Health Initiative aimed at advancing health and sciences in developing nations.
A fireball was spotted flying across the skies of western New York and Ontario, Canada.
The object was caught on dashboard cameras of drivers throughout the region. A streaking object as bright as the sun is seen flying around 4:16 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
The American Meteor Society is looking into the available footage.
Witnesses say that a large boom accompanied the object. There has been no impact zone found so if it was a meteor it did not make it to the planet’s surface.
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower happened on Monday. The meteor shower happens around the same time every year according to NASA.
Vancouver was shaken up Wednesday night as a major 6.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Vancouver Island.
The quake measured magnitude 6.6 and struck just after 8:10 p.m.
The USGS said that three strong aftershocks followed the main quake over the next two hours measuring magnitudes 5.0, 4.2 and 4.2.
Emergency Management B.C. reported that the quake, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, did not cause a tsunami for the region.
“We can confirm at this time that there is no reporting of any injuries or any significant damage, so all folks are safe,” said Pat Quealey, assistant deputy minister for Emergency Management BC.
Witnesses say while the quake was very strong, it only occurred for a short time and most people didn’t have time to react before the quake ended.
Just days after reports showed a Canadian agency was sending aborted babies to a waste-to-energy station in Oregon to be burned as fuel for electricity, Oregon officials have put an end to the process.
“We are outraged and disgusted that this material could be included in medical waste received at the facility,” Marion County Commissioner Janet Carlson wrote in a Wednesday statement. “We did not know this practice was occurring until today. We are taking immediate action and initiating discussions with Covanta Marion to make certain that this type of medical waste is not accepted in the future.”
The Oregon Refuse And Recycling Association had confirmed the reception of the aborted babies when they said the Oregon plant was the only one in the region that burned medical waste for electricity.
County officials say they will work with the plant to ensure any future shipments of medical waste does not contain aborted babies.
A National Guard reservist has been arrested and charged in Federal court with attempting to carry out terror attacks for Al-Qaeda.
Nicholas Teausant, 20, was charged Monday with attempting to provide material to support a foregoing terrorist organization.
Teausant reportedly told an undercover FBI agent that he had been planning a terror attack on a Los Angeles area subway system in January but called it off because the FBI had been tipped to the attack. He then said he was going to attempt to join Al-Qaeda in Syria to fight against the Syrian government.
Teausant was arrested attempting to sneak into Canada so he could board a flight to Syria.
Teausant was listed in court as a student at San Joaquin Delta Community College and a member of the National Guard.
His family told reporters on Monday that “he’s not a terrorist. He’s not evil.”
If you’re in Vancouver and feel like smoking some crack, you now have the opportunity to pick up a fresh crack pipe at one of two new vending machines.
The machines are operated by the Portland Hotel Society’s Drug Users Resource Center and dispense the crack pipes for just 25 cents. The DURC says the move is an attempt to stop diseases from spreading among addicts.
Kailin See, the director of the DURC, told CTV that the pipes are very durable and less likely to chip meaning that drug users won’t cut their mouths on the pipes and spread HIV or hepatitis C.
Canada’s Minister of Public Safety spoke out Saturday opposing the action.
“Drug use damages the health of individuals and the safety of our communities,” Steven Blaney said. “We believe law enforcement should enforce the law.”
