Tributes pour in for slain soldier

Poignant second anniversary of Parliament Hill attack

Two years after Canada was rocked by a lone gunman’s attack on Parliament Hill, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the incident “showed (him) yet again that our diversity and collective love of democracy are what make our country strong and our nation great.”

Trudeau released a written statement Saturday, to mark the second anniversary of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s assault on the National War Memorial and Parliament’s Centre Block.

“This vicious attack, at the very heart of our democracy, sought to frighten and divide Canadians,” Trudeau wrote. “Instead it had the exact opposite effect, drawing us closer together and making us stronger.”

Trudeau’s statement also mourned the loss of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, the 24-year-old soldier from Hamilton, who was shot and killed by ZehafBibeau while standing guard at the war memorial, and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, the 53-year-old soldier killed in an unrelated hit-andrun attack in Quebec just two days earlier.

Trudeau was far from the only Canadian marking the solemn anniversary. Social media was awash Saturday with tributes to Cirillo and Vincent. On Twitter, Trudeau suggested Canadians “honour the lives of Corporal Cirillo & Warrant Officer Vincent by defending the values they personified.”

Stephen Harper, who was prime minister at the time of the shootings, posted a photo of him and his wife with their heads bowed at the Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the site of the shooting that killed Cirillo.