RCMP feared larger plot after gunman’s Parliament Hill rampage

Briefing note sent to officers after shooting had terrifying tone

OTTAWA – Within an hour of gunfire erupting on Parliament Hill, RCMP assistant commissioner Gilles Michaud reached out to another senior officer with a direct and alarming demand.

“We need to determine whether we have [a] larger plot.”

The shootings at the National War Memorial and then Parliament Hill were the isolated fury of one man, but in the first hours fear was everywhere in downtown Ottawa, with concern Canada was under a broader attack.

There were reports of a shooting at the Rideau Centre mall near the hill, a suspicious package was reported on a downtown bridge, and a boat in the Ottawa River below Parliament got a visit from Gatineau Police to confirm it wasn’t a threat.

On Friday, the National Post obtained more than 800 pages of briefing notes and other communications from the RCMP through access to information laws, more than five years after they were requested. They show how confusion reigned throughout the morning, with terrifying possibilities taking hours to confirm as inaccurate.

Michael Zehaf-Bibeau began his rampage at the National War Memorial, killing Cpl. Nathan Cirillo just before 10 a.m. on Oct. 22, 2014.

From there he fled across the street, carjacking a ministerial vehicle to take him to the front entrance and storming into Parliament’s Centre Block before being gunned down by RCMP Const. Curtis Barrett and Parliament’s then Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.

Barely four minutes elapsed from the first report to ZehafBibeau’s death. But it took hours for exactly what had happened to become clear.

At 10:21 a.m., about 30 minutes after the shooting, the first alert went out from the RCMP’s National Division command centre. It said only that there were “reports of shots fired inside the Parliament Buildings as well.”

The first briefing note sent to officers a few minutes later had a terrifying tone.

“At this time: report of gun fires from the roof of Parliament Hill Buildings. Not confirmed – Take all precautions.”

That warning was removed from future updates as more information became clear, but police officers were seen scanning rooftops as they evacuated buildings and moved people to safety throughout the day.

In those early hours, Michaud wanted checks done with CSIS and other national security agencies to determine who Zehaf-Bibeau was and whether he was connected to a terrorist network that could pose a broader threat.

Mass shootings often come with reports of multiple gunmen that are later proven to be false and the hill shooting was no exception.

By noon, the boat in the Ottawa River had been checked out, reports of a shooting at an office building just a block from Parliament were found to be false. The second suspect took hours to dismiss as a rumour however, with briefing notes the force sent to members listing it as unconfirmed as late as 3:30 p.m.