Gunman in Canada attack acted alone

The gunman in Wednesday's attack on Canada's capital acted alone and had no apparent links to Martin Rouleau, a Canadian who intentionally crashed into a pair of soldiers in Quebec earlier this week, killing one, police said on Thursday.

Wednesday's gunman, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, was a Canadian who may also have held Libyan citizenship, said Bob Paulson, commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot a soldier at a national war memorial Wednesday before racing through the Parliament building in Ottawa, where he was shot dead.

In the Quebec incident on Monday, Martin Rouleau, 25, rolled over two Canadian soldiers with his car, killing one, before he, too, was shot dead, police said.

"We have no information linking the two attacks this week," Paulson told reporters in Ottawa, which remained on high security alert.

"Our partners at the Ottawa police service and at the RCMP agreed that Zehaf-Bibeau acted alone and that he is the person that perpetrated the attacks at both the war memorial and on Parliament Hill," Paulson said.

Police on Thursday released surveillance footage showing Zehaf-Bibeau storming the Parliament just after the fatal attack the the war memorial.

Paulson said police expected to swiftly determine whether Zehaf-Bibeau received any support in the planning of his attack.

Zehaf-Bibeau had recently applied for a passport, but checks by the RCMP did not turn up any evidence of national security related criminality despite criminal records indicating infractions related to drugs and violence, Paulson said.

Canada has vowed to continue efforts to support the United States-led coalition fighting ISIL extremists, despite two domestic attacks that have raised concern that the country may be targeted for its involvement in the Middle East. 

“Our deployments in support of the security forces in Iraq will continue unimpeded,” Canadian Defense Minister Rob Nicholson said late Wednesday. At home, service personnel would "continue to stand on guard, vigilant in their duty to protect Canada and Canadians,” he said.

Harper visited the National War Memorial — the site of the initial attack — on Thursday. He laid a wreath and later addressed Parliament, where he said lawmakers would expedite new powers to counter the threat of domestic attacks.

"The objective of these attacks was to instill fear and panic in our country," Harper said. "Canadians will not be intimidated. We will be vigilant, but we will not run scared. We will be prudent but we will not panic." 

Harper also pledged to speed up a plan already under way to bolster Canadian laws and police powers in the areas of "surveillance, detention and arrest."

People fled the memorial on Wednesday by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations, while others took cover inside as police with rifles and body armor took up positions and cordoned off the normally bustling streets around Parliament. At least three people were treated for minor injuries.

In Washington, President Barack Obama condemned the shootings as "outrageous" and said, "We have to remain vigilant." The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa was locked down Wednesday as a precaution. 

Meanwhile, the mother of the alleged gunman, Susan Bibeau, said on Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press that she was in mourning for the victims of the attack.

"Can you ever explain something like this?" she said. "We are sorry."

In a separate email expressing horror and sadness at what happened, Bideau said that her son seemed lost and "did not fit in," and that she hadn't seen him for more than five years before they spoke over lunch last week. "So I have very little insight to offer," she said.

"If I'm crying, it's for the people," she said, struggling to hold back tears. "Not for my son."

Al Jazeera and wire services