warmemorial oct22
An RCMP member stands near the National War Memorial on October 22nd following a shooting incident earlier in the day (Photo submitted by Russ Siemens)

On October 22nd, Canada was rocked to the core by a shooting incident in our Nation's Capital, when a lone gunman stormed Parliament Hill and killed Canadian soldier Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial.

Local resident Russ Siemens, who is a member of the Board of Directors for Innovation Credit Union, was at the Parliament Buildings at the time, just metres away from the scene of the shooting.

"I was here with Credit Union Central of Canada doing meetings with our MPs... and I thought that I would just go down to the Parliament Buildings this morning and have a little tour, and that's when I found myself in the middle of the situation there," Siemens said. "I was picking up a cellphone for a friend  who left it at Question Period yesterday, so I was right in the security area just minutes before they got the call. They were helping me with my cellphone, and they said it wasn't there, but it was in the Confederation Building, so I walked over to that building and it was when I was in the security area of the Confederation Building when the call came in.

"As I was walking away from the scene, emergency vehicles were coming, police cars were driving toward the Parliament Buildings were going probably 100 to 120 kilometres per hour going down that main street, so I knew there was something serious that was going on," he added.

Cypress Hills-Grasslands MP David Anderson was one of many politicians under lockdown in the Centre Block for hours after the shooting.

"We were in our caucus meeting, and then about 10-to-10 in the morning, there was a loud exchange out in the hallway, and people realized immediately that it was gunfire," Anderson said. "The room was secured and one of the security guards joined us and made sure the doors were protected and we waited in there. Shortly after that, the Prime Minister's security detail and additional members came and got him out of the room, and we spent the rest of the day in lockdown while they cleared and made sure the buildings on Parliament Hill were safe for everyone.

"It was a long day, we had some inconvenience, but the thing we need to remember is the family of Cpl. Cirillo," he added. "We also want to make sure that this isn't going to impact Canada in a negative way in the long run, and as the Prime Minister said, we're not going to be intimidated."

Cpl. Cirillo was the second Canadian soldier to be killed that week. Two days earlier, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent died after he was struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run incident in Quebec.