Ottawa gunman made video before attack, say police

The gunman who shot dead a Canadian soldier and opened fire in the country’s parliament building last week made a video of himself just before the attack, police revealed last night.

Canadian Police said they had evidence that Michael Zehaf Bibeau, 32, launched the attack because he was driven by ideological and political motives.

“The RCMP has identified persuasive evidence that Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s attack was driven by ideological and political motives,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Bob Paulson said in a statement Sunday night, adding that the department was not releasing the video.

Police believe Zehaf-Bibeau, described by authorities as a homegrown radical, was the lone gunman who killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo before driving to the Parliament building and exchanging gunfire with police and guards before being killed on Oct. 22.

Paulson said the investigation turned up evidence that Zehaf-Bibeau stored a knife he was carrying during the attack on his aunt’s property in Mont Tremblant and might have also stored the “old and uncommon” gun he used to commit the attack there as well.

Zehaf-Bibeau had saved “a considerable amount of funds” doing work in the oil fields of Alberta, money he used to prepare for the attack, the RCMP said.

“The RCMP is also investigating Zehaf-Bibeau’s interactions with numerous individuals in the days leading up to this attack,” Paulson said. “The investigation is focusing on whether these interactions could have contributed or facilitated, in any way, the terrorist attack subsequently committed by Zehaf-Bibeau.”

Agencies/Canadajournal