Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reacted to the terrorist storming and shooting of a war memorial and then Parliament with a blunt, aggressive message: This nation will not bury its head.
“We will not be intimidated,” said Mr. Harper in an address to the nation after the attacks, The Blaze reported. “Canada will never be intimidated.”
Mr. Harper also promised that the nation wouldn’t have to wait long to learn details about the shooter, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, identified by some media outlets as a recent convert to Islam.
“In the days to come we will learn about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had,” Mr. Harper said, The Blaze reported.
The nation went from low to medium alert due to a hit-and-run attack Monday on two Canadian soldiers, The Associated Press said.
Witnesses said the soldier shot at the National War Memorial was hit at point-blank range by a man dressed all in black, with a face half-covered by a scarf. Witnesses also said that after the shooting, the gunman raised his arms in triumph and then took off toward Parliament, just a few dozen yards away, The Blaze reported.
The attacks set the West on edge, as members of the Islamic State terror group have pledged to carry out assaults on those in Canada, the United States and other nations that have joined in the air assault against them in Iraq and Syria.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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