Ottawa remembers reservist killed in Parliament Hill attack a decade later – SteinbachOnline.com

Ottawa marked the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, but for the family of the reservist who was killed that day, the memory is still raw.

“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. It seems like yesterday,” Ephraim Cirillo said after a private family ceremony held at the National War Memorial Tuesday morning.

His cousin, 24-year-old Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, was shot and killed on October 22, 2014, while guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the memorial. The gunman also fired at Cpl. Branden Stevenson, who was guarding the site with Cirillo that morning.

Ephraim Cirillo said Stevenson is one of his best friends.

“It was hard just knowing that my best friend was by (Nathan’s) side as well,” she said, adding that “it was nice to know that Nathan had Branden to comfort him in his last breaths.”

Ephraim Cirillo said he wants people to remember Nathan’s bravery and love for his family.

“He was brave, he was a leader, he was an amazing human being … I wish he could still be here today,” she said.

Ephraim said he has visited the memorial nearly every year since the attack to honor Nathan and support his mother. The cousins ​​were just a year and a day apart, and they used to celebrate their birthdays together, she said.

After targeting Cirillo, the gunman walked down the street to Parliament Hill and into the downtown block, where he fired several shots before killing him.

The attack took place in the Hall of Honor as Conservative and NDP MPs gathered in nearby committee rooms for their weekly caucus meetings. It forced then-prime minister Stephen Harper and MPs into lockdown for hours and drew attention to security lapses in and around Parliament.

MPs held a moment of silence Tuesday in the House of Commons after question period to commemorate both the Ottawa attack and another terrorist attack that claimed the life of warden Patrice Vincent in Saint-Jean- sur-Richelieu, Que. two days before the Parliament Hill shooting

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spoke Tuesday on the anniversary, as did NDP MP Charlie Angus and Bloc MP Louis Plamondon, who were all on the Hill the day of the attack.

In his speech, Trudeau acknowledged the presence at the podium of Samearn Son, a Parliament Hill security guard on duty at the front gates that day who was shot in the leg by the gunman. The deputies applauded. It was a great ovation.

Poilievre called the event an “attack on our democracy” and recalled hearing gunshots from the Conservative caucus room.

Angus broke down in tears as he recognized Alain Gervais, a Hill security guard in 2014 who stood up to block the door to the NDP caucus room as bullets hit it from outside.

“We pause to remember a day of deep trauma and violence, but it was also a day of heroism and human decency,” Angus said.

Angus recalled that the morning after the attack he returned to the place where Cirillo had been killed.

“There were already hundreds of people there. They were there from all walks of life. And I’ve never forgotten that moment because I thought, this is who we are as a nation.”

Speaking in French, Plamondon said the attack was one of the darkest days for Parliament Hill and noted that it changed things in the House of Commons forever.

Security on and around the Hill has been significantly increased since then, and the Parliamentary Protection Service was created less than a year after the attack. The service merged the protection services of the House of Commons and the Senate into a single entity, overseen by a director who is a member of the RCMP.

Green Party leader Elizabeth May said there were still lessons to be learned from that day.

“There was heroism on all sides, bravery, courage and many tears, but there was never an investigation,” he said.

“Now I will add that it is never too late to look with fresh eyes at what happened and learn these lessons.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on October 22, 2024.