By Nathalie Mairena

When thinking of Canada, most people’s thoughts go to hockey, manners, and maple syrup. Canada is mostly seen as the place of peace but that status was disturbed today when and armed shooter shot a soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, the Canadian capital.

The shooting took place mid-morning. The soldier, who had been standing guard at the Memorial with another guard, was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Following the shooting at the Memorial, shots were heard ringing inside of Canada’s parliament. According to parliament member Tony Clement, there was a series of thirty shots fired during the caucus meeting.

Initially, there was a claim that a shooting was also taking place at the nearby mall, the Rideau Center, though that has been confirmed false.

Witnesses say they say a man with “a long gun” exit a dark vehicle and come running into parliament, followed by a parliamentary officer.

It is currently unknown if here was more than one shooter. Canadian police have issued a statement saying they are currently searching for any more suspects. It is unknown if this was coordinated attack, though appearances suggest that was the case.

The assailant who entered Parliament was eventually shot and killed and his vehicle was apprehended. His identity has not been released, though Canadian officials have shared the information with the FBI.

The usually busy streets of Ottawa were completely abandoned, following warnings from Ottawa Police on their twitter for people to stay away from the downtown area.

Both Parliament and the U.S Embassy are in lock down and citizens in the area are told not to venture out onto the streets. Police Officers and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have spread across the streets in and around Parliament, searching for other possible shooters.

So far, there has been no contact made between President Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S officials have declined to disclose any information until more details have been released.

This shooting came after Canada had raised their national terrorism alert to medium, following the death of another soldier during a hit and run this Monday, which authorities have said was an act of terrorism. There is currently no information about whether the hit-and-run was connected to this attack.

Ottawa police officials have held a conference and currently do not know if there are more suspects

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFtx0Ex1suk