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Libby Davies recalls gunfire and uncertainty

Long-time Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies said she heard as many as 20 shots fired during the attack on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning. Davies spoke to the Courier at about 2:20 p.m.
libby davies
Vancouver East MP Libby Davies. Photo Dan Toulgoet

Long-time Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies said she heard as many as 20 shots fired during the attack on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning. Davies spoke to the Courier at about 2:20 p.m. Vancouver time while still in lockdown in an undisclosed location in the building in Ottawa.

When the attack happened, Davies was in the NDP caucus room located across the hall from the Conservative caucus room.

“The gunshots were right outside our door. I heard them. We all heard them. I instinctively knew that it was gunshots. They were rapid fire. I heard at least 20 shots,” she told the Courier.

The security guard who usually stands outside the door in the main hallway came into the room and locked it.

“He put himself at the door, so he was very brave because we didn’t know who was going to come shooting through the door. Everybody hit the floor. We were quiet and lay there for maybe five or seven minutes, maybe more,” Davies said.

Security then took the group of about 50 people out a side door to another location that is more secure.

“The security and police have been absolutely incredible. They were calm, they’ve acted very professionally and I feel ever so grateful to them for how they took care of us,” said Davies who was first elected to parliament in 1997.

She isn’t sure how she knew the sound was of gunshots — others initially thought it was the sound of chairs crashing down in the hallway or something else. But it was repetitive, so it became obvious.

“My first thought was, My God, what could be going on out there. What’s happened? Then we all hit the floor and everything was very quiet. I mean there are moments where you think is someone going to come through that door. They are old wooden doors, so you don’t know what’s going to come through the door, so you do feel vulnerable. But I felt calm the whole time.”

Once they group was moved to the second location they were on the floor again under tables. It was unclear what was going on, how many gunmen there were or if someone was loose in the building. For a couple of hours, people were quiet and careful.

Davies said NDP leader Thomas Mulcair spoke to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. She described it as a “courtesy, re-assurance call.”

Information was difficult to get so rumours swirled.

“We’ve been told the building is secure, but not when we will be able to leave the building,” she said, adding her staff was in the Central Block at the time of the incident in her office upstairs from the NDP caucus room.

“We’re waiting to get word when we might be able to leave. Then, of course, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow — whether Parliament will sit. I imagine this will cause a major security review. I don’t know what the security folks will say, the sergeant at arms, in terms of the building tomorrow and whether or not it’s even possible for Parliament to sit. It’s a crime scene, right? Right in Centre Block, it’s a crime scene.”

Davies said once she’s allowed to leave the building she’ll likely return to her Ottawa home to see her partner.

“I imagine we’ll de-brief. You kind of want to be with people you know and care about.”

Davies is reluctant to speculate about what might happen next. But she recalled the days when security was much less strict, when there was no screening to get in the building and people could drive up to Parliament Hill.

“I’ve been here 17 years, so over the years it’s certainly changed and security has become a lot more stringent, but it’s obvious this is the most serious incident that’s happened. No one has ever gotten inside the building with a loaded rifle with intent to harm. So I’m sure it will cause a major security review,” she said.

“People worry about these things, but we have to take time to find out what happened, as much as we can. So it’s important not to over-react. It’s important to allow information to be assembled, to analyse what’s going on. From that, you can begin to draw some conclusions about what happened and what needs to be done.”

noconnor@vancourier.com

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