MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti) - The Ottawa shooting suspect Michael Zehaf-Bibeau applied for a passport in order to travel to Syria, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Bob Paulson stated.
"We were aware that he had applied recently for a passport as we were contacted to conduct background checks. The RCMP did not possess information at that time that would reveal any National Security-related criminality," The Star quoted Paulson as saying Thursday. "We have learned through the current investigation that this individual has been in Ottawa since at least October 2nd, 2014, that he was in town to deal with a passport issue but that he was hoping to leave for Syria."
Paulson also said that Zehaf-Bibeau had previously been engaged in a number of criminal activities.
On Wednesday morning, a soldier guarding the National War Memorial in Ottawa was shot dead by an unidentified gunman. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, has been named as the potential suspect in the shooting. Reportedly, he is of Algerian descent and was born in Canada
The incident came 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.
