WASHINGTON, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - Ottawa shooting, that claimed the life of a Canadian soldier, standing guard at the National War Memorial, took Ottawa police by surprise, a senior Ottawa police officer said.
"Potentially there is a threat that exists, and that's what we are trained for. It [the shooting] took us by surprise," an Ottawa top police official said at a press-conference Wednesday.
"Origins are not yet fully known, causes are not yet fully understood. We all want answers. Those answers will come from our dedicated police enforcers," the police officials said.
Ottawa police officers stressed that all available and necessary resources were activated and deployed immediately, when they became aware of the incident.
"It is still an ongoing operation and people are asked to stay away from the Ottawa downtown core, and the auto police service is looking for new witnesses," they added.
The incident comes just two days after a member of the Canadian Armed Forces was killed in a car attack in the city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec.
Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney, described the Monday attack as being associated with terrorism.
