Authorities in Canada's capital, Ottawa, have launched a wide-scale security operation after shooting incident yesterday. As part of the operation, a security perimeter was implemented around Parliament Hill.

The security operation formed part of police efforts to apprehend the perpetrator of an earlier shooting incident in the city. The assailant, who has since been identified, had opened fire on soldiers stationed at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, where one soldier was killed in the incident.The gunman was pursued into the Parliament buildings where he was killed by security forces.

The security perimeter was later lifted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper after security authorities stated that there was no longer an overt threat to public safety in the area.

The motive remains unclear at this stage and investigations are ongoing; however, authorities have not ruled out a terrorist motive for the attack. There is a marginal terrorism threat in the country due to Canada's involvement in foreign-based counter-terrorism operations, the most recent of which is targeting the Islamic State (IS). The country's contributions to international counter-terrorism operations have made it a potential target for sympathisers of such organisations.

The largely indiscriminate and erratic threat stemming from self-radicalised persons remains the primary terrorism threat in the country.

Risk experts at consultancy Red24 are advising that persons in the area exercise a heightened level of personal security awareness and report all suspicious persons or packages to the authorities immediately.

Share Story: