The attack ended with a shootout when the perpetrator, 32-year old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, ran inside the parliament buildings and was shot 31 times by six RCMP officers and died on scene.

Shortly before 10:00 a.m. EDT, on 22 October 2014, witnesses saw a man arrive at the National War Memorial carrying a rifle, dressed in blue jeans and a black jacket, with a keffiyeh scarf over the lower part of his face.

[14][15] The attacker approached Corporal Nathan Cirillo of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's), a reserve infantry unit, who was one of three sentries from the Ceremonial Guard posted at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Anthony Wiseman, was nearly run over while attempting to stop the attacker[18] who returned to his vehicle, a small grey Toyota car, which was parked on the south side of Wellington Street behind the memorial.

Pursued by RCMP officers, he passed, on his left, the door to a committee room in which Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the governing Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) were meeting.

Across the hall, the RCMP placed Prime Minister Harper in a closet while Conservative MPs made a barricade at the doors, grabbing flagpoles to use as rudimentary spears.

[31] Vickers, a distinguished policeman, commander and administrator with the RCMP before he joined the staff of the House of Commons in 2005,[32] retrieved his 9mm Smith & Wesson 5946 handgun from a lock-box and entered the hall.

[48] Samearn Son, a House of Commons constable, was shot in the foot while trying to wrestle a gun away from the perpetrator at the Centre Block, and was treated and released by Ottawa Civic Hospital.

[57] The incident caused cancellation of a ceremony scheduled for later the same day in Toronto, in which Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai was to receive her certificate of honorary Canadian citizenship from Stephen Harper.

[80] An Ottawa mosque was the scene of two incidents: A member praised the attacker as a martyr after prayers, leading to the police stopping him for national security reasons the next day.

[85] Persons have continued to leave "bouquets, poppies, photos, poems, written tributes, stuffed animals, a can or two of beer, even a battered hockey stick" at the war memorial, although the government has removed the items several times.

[89] Her federal representative, Governor General David Johnston, extended his sympathies to the family of the deceased Canadian soldier and gratitude for the "professionalism and courage of our security personnel and emergency responders.

[94] Green Party leader Elizabeth May said in the House of Commons: "I would put money on these being the acts of isolated, disturbed and deeply troubled men who were drawn to something crazy.

"[99] A national poll by the Angus Reid organization released on November 25, 2014, revealed that Canadians in general were also split as well on whether the attack and shooting was an act of terrorism or mental illness.

"[67] In the following week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a visit to Ottawa, which included laying a wreath at the National War Memorial in honour of the soldier killed.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald said that the Canadian government was exploiting the shootings by wasting "no time in seizing on the incident to promote its fear-mongering agenda over terrorism, which includes pending legislation to vest its intelligence agency, CSIS, with more spying and secrecy powers in the name of fighting ISIS."

"[101] Greenwald's opinion was in turn criticized by academic Daniel W. Drezner who said that his argument was both banal and incomplete, and that the reason why there was shock in Canada at the attack was that democracies at least claimed to adhere to jus in bello when they prosecuted violent conflicts, whereas some of their opponents did not.

[103] An editorial in The Guardian on 26 October said "it is hard to judge the exact significance of this week's events" and "[Canada's] diversity is reflected in an acute sensitivity to the risks of conflating the threat of terror with Islam itself, which represents the country's second largest faith community."

The editorial ended with: And only a fortnight ago, its parliament voted to join the coalition in support of the US bombing of Isis targets: the country's security agencies were clear that they believed the decision would heighten the risk of a terrorist attack.

[104]An editorial in The Economist from 8 November 2014, in discussing the impact on US-Canada border security, said: The attack in Ottawa last month by a lone gunman, who killed a Canadian soldier and stormed parliament, seems likely to make matters worse.

Although there is still uncertainty about the motives of the gunman, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau—possibly a deranged outcast, possibly a religious extremist—the United States is reviewing security along the 5,525-mile (8,890km) line which separates the two countries (including the Alaskan land border).

[118] The day after the shooting, Prime Minister Harper pledged to expedite plans to boost security forces' surveillance, detention, and arrest powers;[95] other members of the government indicated consideration was being made toward ways to magnify anti-terrorism laws.

[155] The terror threat level in Canada was on 21 October raised to medium in light of the ramming attack and due to "an increase in online 'general chatter' from radical groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

Andrea Polko, girlfriend of Nathan Cirillo said in a statement on Facebook that the dysfunctional state of the Canadian mental health care system was to blame for the shooting.

[161] Vancouver Sun columnist Ian Mulgrew commented on how the incident, as well as a failed bombing attempt in Victoria by persons motivated similarly to Zehaf-Bibeau, showed 'gaping holes' in the social security net.

I know which approach would make me feel safer, what I would call real security measures: a social safety net that caught those in obvious need before they went postal, people like Zehaf-Bibeau.

James Baxter, editor-in-chief of ipolitics.ca, an Ottawa political 'zine, said "the government is exploiting two isolated murders to push through sweeping new surveillance powers" and pointed out "the would-be 'terrorists' involved were armed only with a car and a vintage hunting rifle".

Like them, the New York attacker was labelled as a "lone wolf," although Siegel writes that those who are moved from anger to spontaneous deadly action most often fit the profiles of borderline psychotics more than hardcore believers.

[166] He cites a 2010 study by terrorism analyst Brian Jenkins of the RAND Corporation, which states that it would be more appropriate to describe "lone wolves" as "stray dogs" which, "while still dangerous, skulk about, sniffing at violence, vocally aggressive but skittish without backup.

[2] Additionally, his previous criminal charges and convictions, history of drug abuse, and lack of a fixed address all would have prevented him from receiving a Canadian Firearms Licence.