WATCH ABOVE: Carmela Giglia was friends with the mother of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, and knew the fallen soldier since he was just two-years-old.
TORONTO – The soldier killed at the War Memorial in Ottawa Wednesday morning has been identified.
Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed after a gunman opened fire in the nation’s capital just before 10 a.m.
Although both Ottawa Police and the Canadian Armed Forces have yet to officially identify the soldier, several friends and family members began to share condolences on social media.
“Our family is grieving,” a relative reached at the Cirillo home told The Canadian Press.
“Right now is the wrong time to talk.”
READ MORE: 1 suspect dead after soldier killed in attack on Parliament Hill
“Can’t believe my cousin is gone !! Love you Nathen Cirillo. R I P.,” David Cirillo, the soldier’s cousin said on Facebook.
Cirillo was a member of the Argylls of Canada, 91st Canadian Highlanders, in Hamilton Ontario.
The 24-year-old reservist was standing guard at the National War Memorial when a man opened fire.
The gunman was later shot dead in the Parliament’s Centre Block amid a frantic search for the assailant and any accomplices.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hamilton police chief Glenn De Caire expressed his condolences to the fallen soldier
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and colleagues of the Argyll and Sutherland reservist who was killed today, serving his country,” said De Caire in a statement. “He is a part-time soldier, and a full-time Canadian.”
Cirillo is being mourned on social media as a loving father, dog lover and hero.
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who represents a Hamilton riding, expressed her condolences, saying Cirillo served bravely with the city’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders – the 91st Canadian Highlanders.
“New Democrats are shocked and saddened by this morning’s tragic events in Ottawa. My heart goes out to the family of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was killed while standing guard at our National War Memorial,” she said in a statement. “His family, my community of Hamilton, and our country have suffered a great loss today. We will remember him for his service.”
Several people began to leave flowers outside of the Argylls reserves.
“I guess we never thought that we would never see this on Canadian soil before, it’s just shocking,” Hamilton resident Marg Harrison said.
-with a file from Erika Tucker and The Canadian Press
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