No cameras in hall where Hill shooter was killed
Canadians may have to rely on the testimony of security officers to piece together the final moments of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s life inside Centre Block because a recording may not exist.
No security cameras were trained on the area at the end of the Hall of Honour, just outside the entrance to the Library of Parliament, when Zehaf-Bibeau was killed in a shootout with security forces, the Citizen has confirmed.
That gap is likely to be one of several findings in an upcoming report from the Ontario Provincial Police that tries to piece together exactly what happened from the moment Zehaf-Bibeau raced onto Parliament Hill with a loaded weapon, up to his death inside Centre Block steps away from a room where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was meeting with his caucus.
Whether that report will be made public is still unclear.
A summary of some of the report’s findings has been provided to House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer, and the full report is expected before the end of the month. A spokeswoman for Scheer said Wednesday that the OPP have told the Speaker the “investigation is nearing completion and that the full investigative report is forthcoming.” She wouldn’t comment on the location of cameras in the Centre Block.
The OPP report is expected to shed light on what, precisely, happened inside Centre Block on Oct. 22, 2014. Details of the final shootout are wrapped in some mystery, including who fired the fatal bullet, precisely how many bullets hit Zehaf-Bibeau, and the actions that then-sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers took to help end the standoff.
Zehaf-Bibeau ran onto Parliament Hill seconds after killing Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial, brandishing a rifle as he moved through security bollards at a vehicular entrance on Wellington Street. (Recently, those bollards weren’t working properly, although it’s unclear when and for how long.) He hijacked a minister’s car, driving slowly to the front door of Centre Block, then raced inside.
The OPP report will outline what went right and wrong with RCMP security patrolling the grounds of Parliament Hill on Oct. 22, as well as the actions of the Mounties inside Centre Block. That review will also outline how parliamentary security forces in the House and Senate reacted when the shooter burst in.
The events of that day sparked a review of security procedures on Parliament Hill, including a government push to have the RCMP take over operational control of security both inside and outside the parliamentary buildings. Parliament Hill sources say there has yet to be any significant movement on that political decision, taken in February.
On Wednesday, the federal government posted a tender asking for companies to submit bids for work to assess threats and security at federal buildings in the National Capital Region. The government regularly posts such tenders, known as standing offers, with winning companies getting work on an as-requested basis.
The tender documents note that companies would be required to “identify employees and assets that need protection,” recommend security safeguards “to reduce the risk to an acceptable level,” and oversee the construction of security upgrades. The tender documents say that in some cases, the work would be expanded from buildings to include federally controlled infrastructure, such as bridges and dams.