Canada’s sergeant-at-arms hailed as hero for killing shooter

OTTAWA — Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, who heads security at Canada’s Parliament, was yesterday credited with killing a gunman who stalked the halls of the Ottawa legislature.

“Hill staff owe their safety, even lives, to Sergeant at Arms Kevin Vickers who shot attacker just outside the MPs’ caucus rooms,” Member of Parliament Craig Scott of the New Democratic Party wrote in a Twitter post. Justice Minister Peter MacKay tweeted “Thank God for Sgt at Arms Kevin Vickers & our Cdn security forces”.

After Canada’s Parliament re-opened yesterday morning, Mr Vickers, who attended the session, was greeted with a standing ovation by members. Thunderous applause rang out as he attended the chamber, with the country’s hero looking overwhelmed with emotion.

Parliament later observed a moment of silence in honour of the soldier who was killed.

The 58-year-old has been in the job since 2006. His duties range from coordinating security to ceremonial functions, according to Parliament’s website. Mr Vickers carries a large mace into the House of Commons as part of traditions dating back to Canada’s roots as a British colony.

Two sources told Canadian Press that Mr Vickers took the shot that killed gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau in the Hall of Honour near the entrance to the legislature’s main building.

Mr Vickers spent 29 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) before he was named to the security job in Ottawa, and won a US Drug Enforcement Agency award for his work, an official biography said.

Mr Dan Bussieres, Mr Vickers’ colleague in the RCMP for many years, called him “a true gentleman who is very responsible”, the CBC Television reported.

“He’s the perfect man to be the sergeant-at-arms in Ottawa right now. I can assure you of that,” Mr Bussieres said.

Although sergeants-at-arms often operate outside of the public spotlight, the events on Parliament Hill are not the first time they have been instrumental in preventing bloodshed in Canadian history.

When army supply clerk Denis Lortie opened fire in Quebec’s National Assembly in 1984, the legislature’s sergeant-at-arms went inside and tried to calm him. Rene Jalbert, a retired major in the army, offered Lortie a cigarette and persuaded him to release about a dozen hostages who were cowering in the chamber. AGENCIES