The Parliament Hill Attack
If 2013 offered Canadians an emotional high, then 2014 served as the come down – a sobering time of reflection in the wake of a deadly attack on home soil. On Oct. 22, a gunman arrived at Parliament Hill in Ottawa and embarked on a shooting spree, killing Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a member of the Ceremonial Guard, and wounding three others before being fatally shot by an RCMP officer. Sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers, 58, emerged as one of the heroes of the attack, leaping into action and returning fire at the gunman while defending the safety of the elected officials and civilians on the premises. Yet, despite the heroics of Vickers and the RCMP, the incident brought terrorism to the heart of Canada’s capital and left scars on the national consciousness that remain to this day.