Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was shot at least once before final deadly encounter
Sources say Hall of Honour security video appears to show attacker hit during gunfire exchange
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the man who stormed Parliament Hill on Oct. 22, was shot at least once by guards before the final deadly confrontation with Sergeant.-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, CBC News has learned.
The new details suggest Hill security staff reacted quickly when the gunman entered the front doors of Parliament and responded with force in the seconds it took him to get to the top of the front steps.
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When Zehaf-Bibeau stormed up Parliament Hill and entered the front doors of Centre Block, he was stopped momentarily by a parliamentary guard, Const. Samearn Son.
As they struggled, Zehaf-Bibeau's gun went off, with the bullet hitting the marble floor and ricocheting into Son's leg, where it remains. Sources told CBC News doctors have decided to leave the bullet there, as it is too difficult to extract.
Zehaf-Bibeau then rushed up the stairs into the Hall of Honour, where there was the first exchange of gunfire with parliamentary guards.
It is in this exchange that, sources say, Zehaf-Bibeau was shot at least once. Sources tell CBC News that security video taken inside Centre Block reveals Zehaf-Bibeau flinching as he runs down the hall at the heart of the building, with part of his body reacting as if it has been punched.
Zehaf-Bibeau did not stop, however. According to sources, he still had a firm grip on his rifle as he made his way toward the entrance of the Library of Parliament, where he tucked himself in behind a pillar.
The sources could not say how badly he was wounded, but it seems Zehaf-Bibeau was still capable of firing his rifle. In the video taken by the Globe and Mail's Josh Wingrove, it is clear Zehaf-Bibeau got off one last shot before he himself was shot and presumably killed by Vickers.
While the RCMP quickly released security video taken outside the Parliament Buildings, this video from inside the hall won't be released.
On Monday, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson also backed away from earlier comments in which he said he hoped "someday" a video Zehaf-Bibeau made before the shooting would be released.
"I think that we may look at releasing some aspects of the transcript of the video, but I don't know that we will be releasing the video," Paulson told reporters at a press conference on the new RCMP accountability act in Ottawa.
New security measures
CBC News has also learned details about new security measures that will be implemented along the Hall of Honour.
The doors to the rooms where both the government and the Official Opposition were meeting at the time of the shooting will be made bulletproof with a Kevlar-like material. During the shooting, one bullet penetrated the outer door to the NDP caucus room and lodged in a second, inner door.
And by early next year, parliamentary guards who are not currently armed will carry guns and are currently undergoing training on how to use them. The guards will also get a change in uniform, going from light to dark blue.