Canadian parliament's Sergeant-at-Arms hailed as hero for shooting gunman

Canada's parliament reopened yesterday, giving a hero's welcome to its 58-year-old head of security after he shot dead the gunman who stormed the building.

Applause rang out for the guardian of the cradle of Canada's democracy Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers - who bears the assembly's ceremonial mace - followed by a prayer, the national anthem and a moment of silence.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper crossed the floor of the Commons to shake Vickers' hand, and hug opposition leaders.

Conservative Member of Parliament Peter Goldring said Vickers shot dead the gunman who had been running past the caucus room containing Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"He came out of his office with a weapon and fired and apparently dropped him," Goldring said. "He even went back into his office again and reloaded to come out again to give protection, because the sense was that nobody was sure whether it was one person or whether it was multiple people involved."

Member of Parliament Craig Scott said on Twitter that Vickers had shot the gunman just as he approached rooms packed with politicians. "MPs and [parliament] staff owe their safety, even lives, to Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, who shot the attacker just outside the MPs' caucus rooms," Scott wrote.

Vickers, a 29-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was appointed Sergeant-at-Arms in 2006. The position puts him in charge of security at the parliamentary buildings.