On 22 October 2014, a terrorist attack by a lone gunman was conducted at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Canada. The gunman killed Corporal Nathan Cirillo, who a ceremonial guard was working at the national war memorial (Austen & Gladstone, 2014). After shooting the Nathan Cirillo, the attacker proceeded towards the parliament buildings where he was shot dead. The attacker, Michael Zeha-Bibeau, was aged 32 years and had been struggling with substance abuse problems. He was born to a Canadian mother and a Libyan father, and he had dual Libyan-Canadian citizenship (Austen & Gladstone, 2014). He was raised a Catholic but converted to Islam in his adulthood and had a criminal record of drug and petty crimes. On 4 October 2014, the attacker had taken part in a public guided tour at the parliament buildings. Two weeks after the tour, he purchased an old Toyota Corolla and is believed to have acquired the riffle used for the attack from his aunt’s house, whom he had visited the same day. On the 22nd of the same month, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau recorded a video in which he showed his disapproval of the actions conducted by Canada’s military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan and on the same day committed the attack.
Michael Zeha-Bibeau wanted to go to the Middle East and study religion and was a radicalized Muslim. His actions may have been motivated and inspired by the Islamic State Movement (ISIS) that was targeting Canada and other European nations. ISIS, which is also known as ISIL, is a Sunni jihadist organization. The group has a violent ideology that terms itself caliphate and makes claims that it has religious authority over Muslims (McCoy, 2014). The group was inspired by Al Qaida but was afterward expelled. The organization has been trying to establish itself as the main terrorist group at war with the United States and other Western countries on behalf of the Islamic religion. According to the organization’s creed, any government that does not govern using sharia laws qualifies for killing attacks through any means.
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The attacker at the national war memorial target was the parliament, where he probably intended to kill more individuals. A month before the attack, Abu Mohammed, the spokesman of ISIS, has issued a message urging sympathizers to conduct revenge killings in different states, which Canada was among. The spokesperson stated “If you can kill a disbelieving American or European — especially the spiteful and filthy French — or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way, however, it may be,” (Austen & Gladstone, 2014). After the attack, ISIS followers praised the terrorist attack and gave a warning that many more were on the way.
ISIS executes its terrorist activities using both organized groups and lone attackers who are inspired by the group, like in the case of Michael Zeha-Bibeau. The propaganda of ISIS, which is characterized by horrific and shocking images, works well in their efforts to recruit and attract people from all over the world. In 2015, for example, it was estimated that more than 30,000 people from more than 86 nations traveled to Syria and Iraq after the caliphate, which was declared in June 2014 (The Soufan Group, 2015). The declaration inspired many attacks beyond Iraq and Syria. ISIS is a radical movement that is based on a person’s need for individual and collective acknowledgment, an ideology that presents violence as the path to being significant, and a network that incorporates its ideology into social reality.
ISIS creates special excitement in young people around the globe to increase the number of lone attackers throughout the world (McCoy, 2014). Although the majority of the recruits who join the group are from Arab countries, the number of those traveling to Syria and Iraq from other parts of the world, such as Europe, has been increasing in the recent past. Reports indicate that there are entire families who indicate their willingness to leave freedom and democracy, which they claim were imposed on them to brainwash Muslims and make them forget about their power and beautiful past (Akbar, 2015). ISIS releases pictures of foreign fighters while burning passports once they have arrived in the ISIS location. Such pictures are used to present people who enthusiastically dealt away with their past and began a new life as part of the caliphate (Malik, 2014). As part of its inspiration strategies, ISIS uses social media to inspire radical Muslims from other parts of the world to commit terrorist activities and even in some cases, recruit. Although social media is not sufficient in recruitment efforts, it is a facilitating factor.
Although the terrorist organization has lost its territories in Syria and Iraq, it still has a worldwide presence. It declared provinces in countries such and Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, among other countries. In 2019, ISIS also declared other new provinces in countries such as India and Turkey, among others, in an attempt to reassert itself after its defeat. Apart from acquiring territories, ISIS encourages its sympathizers and followers to conduct lone-wolf attacks by using cheap and less expensive methods such as vehicles, knives, guns, and explosives made at home. Despite losses, the organization, even today, is inspiring lone-wolf attackers who implement terrorist activities on a small scale.
Public Safety professionals responded to the attack by implementing various measures. Buildings were locked down by police officers, while store owners were requested to close them. After the problem at Parliament Hill appeared to be settled, heavily armed police officers assessed the situation in the various parts of downtown and checked buildings to ensure that there were no more attackers. More heavily armed officers were deployed in the area to deal with the situation, assuring the safety, and return things to normal. A large ambulance was also set up in the area where it set up its operations in case of any more casualties as a result of the attack. Police officers conducted their activities throughout the whole day to determine if Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was alone or he had accomplices distributed in the area. No more attackers were identified, and by around 8:20 pm, the lockdowns were lifted and normalcy, although characterized by anxiety restored.
The attack at Parliament Hill indicates the need to strengthen national security by building resilience through for main principles that prevent, detect, deny, and respond. Prevention focuses on the motivations of people who participate in terrorist activities. To prevent the attack, encouraging openness between the government and the citizens, cross-cultural initiatives spearheaded by the government, and establishing community outreach programs to counter violent extremism. The above mentioned preventive measures would have helped identify the possibility of the attacker’s radicalization and have the issue addressed before turning into a violent extremist. Partnerships between the government and Canadian communities would have helped in the development of effective response strategies that would have prevented the attack. Detection pays attention to identifying terrorists, terrorist groups, supporters and sympathizers, their potential, and the type of plans for having (Public Safety Canada, 2018). Sharing information and partnership with both local and international partners would have made it possible for the government to identify how ISIS operates and its possible influence in Canada. This would have helped detect the attack plans by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau as a result of inspiration by ISIS. Strong intelligence ability and an extensive understanding of changes in the threat environment are crucial (Public Safety Canada, 2018).
The government, through its various security, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies can deny possible terrorists ways and opportunities to implement their terrorist actions through vulnerabilities mitigation and intervention in terror plans (Public Safety Canada, 2018). Denying the terrorist access to finances would have prevented him from purchasing the car used in committing the crime. Besides, training of security personnel in government and public institutions on how to identify terrorists and intervene minimizes the likelihood of terrorist targets in such places. The last principle is responding, which was the one implemented in the parliament hill attack. The response was rapid, but improving the organization would have improved the response’s effectiveness. The principle also focuses on the importance of making sure that normalcy resumes as quickly as possible and minimize the effects of an attack (Public Safety Canada, 2018).
Both the public and the government cited a need for tough anti-terrorism regulations and improved security. Official investigations of the attack conducted by the Ontario Provincial Police indicated that security at Parliament Hill was poor and inadequate. The report stated that there lacked operational preparedness in aspects such as training, lack of the necessary resources, and poor coordination between the police department and security agencies. The report further indicated that Canada was not well prepared to prevent and react to such terrorist attacks. As a result, a new force was created and regulated by RCMP to ensure parliamentary security.
References
Akbar, J. (2015, July 4). All 12 of us are in the Islamic State: Luton family confirms they are in Syria and encourage other Britons to join them . Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3149190/All-12-Islamic-State-Luton-family-release-statement-confirming-Syria.html
Austen, I., & Gladstone, R. (2014, October 22). Gunman Panics Ottawa, Killing Soldier in Spree at Capital. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/world/americas/canada-parliament-gunfire.html
McCoy, T. (2014, June 13). ISIS, beheadings and the success of horrifying violence. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/13/isis-beheadings-and-the-success-of-horrifying-violence/
Public Safety Canada. (2018, January 31). Building Resilience against Terrorism: Canada's Counter-terrorism Strategy . Government of Canada. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/rslnc-gnst-trrrsm/index-en.aspx
The Soufan Group (2015). Foreign fighters: An updated assessment of the flow of foreign fighters into Syria and Iraq . http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TSG_ForeignFightersUpdate3.pdf
