Ottawa police ask Ottawa faith communities to report threats

Ottawa's police chief has reached out to religious and community leaders in the city Wednesday, asking them to report crimes or threats while warning them that the shootings at Parliament Hill and the incident in St. Jean de Richelieu "may be very challenging for members of our communities."

CBC News has confirmed the man suspected in the shootings at the National War Memorial and at Parliament Hill — and who was himself shot dead on the Hill — was Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a Canadian born man with a criminal record in Quebec and British Columbia. Police sources confirmed a picture of a man tweeted from an ISIS account was Zehaf-Bibeau.

Earlier this week on Monday, Martin Couture-Rouleau, 25, ran down two military personnel in a St-Jean-sur-Richelieu parking lot. He was fatally shot by police after leading officers on a high-speed chase. Police describe him as "radicalized."

Police have yet to say whether the two incidents are connected, but in a letter to the faith groups in Ottawa, police Chief Charles Bordeleau said "it is incumbent upon us as a police service to be aware of how this incident may have an impact on our local communities."

"The Ottawa Police Service has a long standing collaboration with our various faith and communities leaders that have allowed us to build strong and positive relationships.  With this in mind, I want to take this opportunity to reiterate my commitment to ensure the safety of all our communities," he said.

Bordeleau said anyone who feels there is a life-threatening emergency or crime in progress are "strongly encouraged" to call 911.

For all other non-emergency crimes, or for general inquiries, people are asked to call police at 613-236-1222.