LETHBRIDGE- From Ottawa to southern Alberta, a visible display of honor is shown for Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, the fallen soldier shot to death while guarding our National War Memorial.
For some, the attack hit too close to home.
Sgt. Jim Bennett with the Blood Tribe Police Service was staying just across the river from Parliament Hill, attending an awards ceremony.
He was planning to visit the Parliament buildings that morning.
“Being just a few minutes away was a different experience, I’ll tell you that right now,” said Sgt. Bennett.
He headed to the airport Wednesday afternoon, leaving four hours early just to navigate through the chaotic streets of Ottawa.
“We had to cross the river into Ottawa, through two armed barricades. Luckily it wasn’t my side of the road that was being searched, but we had to stop. Two different times I saw 20 heavily armed police officers looking in trunks and in back seats as I made my way to the airport.”
For southern Albertans who witnessed the attack from home, they say it’s hard to come to terms with why it happened.
One woman we spoke to said, “I think it brings us into a new world and I imagine that everyone feels the same, that they feel sorry for the families of the soldiers that have passed away and scared that it is so very close to our own home now.”
Increased security efforts across the country were added immediately following the attack, including at the Ottawa airport.
“The first time in my life I had my hands swabbed, my belt swabbed, my feet swabbed at security at the airport,” said Sgt. Bennett.
Here in Lethbridge, military personnel have been directed to limit wearing their uniforms while in public.
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