A garbled police radio transmission failed to immediately alert RCMP officers that an armed Michael Zehaf Bibeau was storming Parliament Hill on Oct. 22, 2014, an Ontario Provincial Police report has found.
A woman with a baby carriage first alerted a female RCMP officer on the Hill about a man with a gun, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud told a news conference Wednesday.
As the terrified woman attempted to seek shelter in the back of the officer’s cruiser, the officer tried to radio others about Zehaf Bibeau, who had forced his way inside a ministerial limo and was driving towards Centre Block.
However, the officer’s radio message came out “garbled” and no one understood what she was saying, Michaud said.
Another officer saw the limo approaching, but did not realize that Zehaf Bibeau was inside.
The gunman then made his way into Centre Block, where he was shot within seven seconds of entering the building, the OPP report says.
Zehaf Bibeau was shot 31 times, including two shots that would have been immediately fatal, according to the review.
The House of Commons and the RCMP released the redacted versions of the OPP report Wednesday.
