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Attacker Made Video Of Himself Before Shooting, Canadian Police Say

The man named as the shooter in the attack near the Canadian Parliament made a video of himself before the Oct. 22 incident, Royal Canadian Mounted Police say.

A statement from Police Commissioner Bob Paulson on Sunday said the ongoing investigation "has revealed a great deal about [Michael] Zehaf-Bibeau's movements and actions" prior to the shooting.

The police have "persuasive evidence" that the attack was ideologically and politically motivated. Police are analyzing the video, which they say they will not release at this time.

Reporter Dan Karpenchuk, citing Canadian police, tells our Newscast Desk:

"The video appears to have been made on Tuesday, the day before Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot a soldier on guard at the war memorial, then entered the Parliament buildings where he died in a shootout with security guards and police.

"Investigators are still looking into where Zehaf-Bibeau obtained the rifle he used in the deadly attack. It's believed he may have hidden it on the property of an aunt in Quebec. They also say he had access to a considerable amount of money which he earned working in the Alberta oil sands."

Top security officials will testify before a Parliament committee on Monday, Reuters reports:

"The head of the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] and a senior official at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service will likely face tough questions from a Senate committee about how Zehaf-Bibeau and another man, Martin Rouleau, 25, both described by police as homegrown radicals were able to kill two soldiers on Canadian soil last week in separate attacks.

"The incidents have prompted [Prime Minister Stephen Harper] and his Conservative colleagues to scramble to strengthen anti-terrorism legislation and sparked questions about Canada's culture of openness that allowed anyone to walk freely into the Ottawa parliament building."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Dana Farrington is a digital editor coordinating online coverage on the Washington Desk — from daily stories to visual feature projects to the weekly newsletter. She has been with the NPR Politics team since President Trump's inauguration. Before that, she was among NPR's first engagement editors, managing the homepage for NPR.org and the main social accounts. Dana has also worked as a weekend web producer and editor, and has written on a wide range of topics for NPR, including tech and women's health.

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