'We were lucky today,' says MP Armstrong

OTTAWA – Scott Armstrong was in a Conservative caucus meeting as gunshots rang through Parliament Hill’s Centre Block on Wednesday morning.

“I was in the caucus room with my colleagues and (the shooting) was in the Hall of Honour, which isn’t very far away,” Armstrong said Wednesday night, Oct. 22, from the nation’s capital.

“Quite frankly, we were lucky today, we were very lucky.”

The MP for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley spoke to the Truro Daily News shortly after a near 11-hour lockdown was lifted on Parliament Hill.

On Wednesday morning, a gunman fatally shot an honour guard at the National War Memorial before entering the halls of Parliament’s Centre Block, where chaos ensued and gunfire erupted. The gunman was shot dead by the sergeant-of-arms of the House of Commons.

The soldier who was killed has been identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo of Hamilton.

“My condolences to the family of the soldier that was murdered in front of the War Memorial,” said Armstrong. “He was just standing there in a ceremonial position and this guy just walked up there and murdered him, as far as I can tell, and to his family I just feel so terrible for them.”

Those inside Parliament during the incident were told by security to stay inside rooms and keep doors locked and/or barricaded.

“For the security forces on the Hill, we all owe a great deal to that,” Armstrong said. “An attack on Parliament is not an attack on MPs, it’s an attack on Canada. It’s an attack on our democracy and our freedom. And the security forces on the Hill, they did their job by keeping all of us safe.”

Just after the shooting, around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Armstrong was contacted by the Truro Daily News on his cellphone.

“I’m safe,” he said. “That’s all I can comment on right now. I’m safe.”

Armstrong’s assistant, Sandra Bales, posted a message to her Facebook account after shots were fired.

“I’m hiding on the floor in my office,” she said. “Shots were fired in this building. Security is on my floor with drawn guns and I’m scared. This is my worst day at work ever! Pray for the fallen.”

Armstrong credited Bales for her bravery during the ordeal and the aftermath.

“She was up in my office all by herself hour after hour after hour locked in a room and she wasn’t able to go out in the hallway,” he said. “I was with my colleagues, at least I had people with me. I was in constant contact with her, but a lot of credit goes to her and her bravery because she was by herself.”

Armstrong said his former job as a school principal helped on Wednesday. He said code blue emergency training he received as a principal proved “very useful in this situation.”

“It was scary and it was frightening, but you’ve got to stay calm in those situations and there are security people around us and they are trained to handle those situations, so you’ve just got to follow direction and make sure you are listening and everyone’s staying calm.”

The gunman has been identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. The sergeant-of-arms who shot and killed Zehaf-Bibeau was Kevin Vickers.

“When the story does come out, and you actually hear what happened on the Hill today … I think you’ll see there was some heroic performances by some of our security forces, not the least of which was by the sergeant-of-arms,” said Armstrong.