Ottawa shooting: Reconstructing the Centre Block shootout
Caught on tape, wounded Commons security guard Samearn Son says 'I'll survive'
From Jean Brousseau's point of view, it was gunfire and chaos, and then ... nothing. Seconds ticked by, and nobody fired.
A full minute ticked by ... and then, deafening chaos again.
But Brousseau knew to take cover.
Hunkering down in a small alcove with soundman Martin Blais, he stuck an arm out to punch the button and start his camera rolling. What he saw tells a story.
'Drop the gun!'
Zehaf-Bibeau has run out of sight down the hall towards the Library of Parliament just before the camera rolls.
The tape captures the voice of a guard yelling "Drop the gun! Drop it! Drop it!"
Clearly, Zehaf-Bibeau didn't drop it. Seconds later, two loud shots boom out — but it's not clear who fired them. We can't tell if Zehaf-Bibeau was hit.
Brousseau's lens is pointed across the empty hallway. He steadies the camera as time ticks by.
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Brousseau steadies his camera for a better view. Finally, 45 seconds after that second shot, some Mounties appear, cautiously advancing down the hallway with their guns drawn. They know they are going towards danger but urge each other on: "Go! Go! Go!"
Single shots followed by barrage
But a cameraman is a cameraman. Brousseau edges his camera forward to peer down the hall. By now, just over a minute has elapsed since that second shot. Then, one loud report is heard — perhaps the rifle? — followed immediately by the pop-pop-pop of a semi-automatic pistol.
Moments later, the CBC's Mike dePaul spots Vickers with gun in hand, walking calmly down the hall to report to terrified MPs that it's okay, "I put him down."
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Vickers himself insisted on sharing the credit — singling out the wounded guard, Samearn Son. So where is this unsung hero and why don't Canadians know more about him?
'Where do we go?'
Downstairs when the shooting began, another CBC veteran, Yves Levesque, also started rolling as soon as he heard shots. For the first few seconds, people seem not to register the sound, going about their business. Moments later, there's panic.
Caught in the hallway, Liberal MP Judy Sgro darts this way, then that; nobody knows where to go.
Levesque keeps rolling as he runs down a hallway towards the MPs' entrance to the House of Commons.
One says he can't tell whether the shots are from inside or outside.
There, a wounded security guard is kneeling on the sidewalk. It's Samearn Son, who has stumbled out of the building, nursing his leg.
Someone asks, "Are you OK?"
He'll survive. But the chances are, he won't forget.
Watch more of CBC's raw footage:
