Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers ‘always about country’: brother

WATCH ABOVE: John Vickers, the brother of Canada’s current Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, speaks with Global News about the former RCMP officer’s role in today’s shooting at Parliament.

When John Vickers turned on his television in Victoria this morning, he was not only surprised to watch the events of the shooting in Ottawa unfold but also knew his older brother was possibly in the middle of it.

Vickers’ brother, Kevin, Canada’s current Sergeant-at-Arms since 2006, is the person who reportedly shot one of the assailants inside the Centre Block.

READ MORE: Parliament Hill security: who is the Sergeant-at-Arms?

Calling it “a very emotional response on the family front”, Vickers said they were able to get confirmation from his family that Kevin was okay.

“[The Parliament Hill shooting] was a very emotional response for me,” Vickers said.

“Particularly holding it together when you heard that gun fire, and the extent of the gun fire, and to know that your brother was in the middle of all that. We’re just happy that he’s okay.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "[The Parliament Hill shooting] was a very emotional response for me," Vickers said.</p><p>"Particularly holding it together when you heard that gun fire, and the extent of the gun fire, and to know that your brother was in the middle of all that. We're just happy that he's okay."

An RCMP officer for 29 years and originally from New Brunswick, Kevin was involved in leading high-profile investigations such as the one into the safety of Canada’s blood supply.

Asked if he was surprised to see his 54-year-old brother involved in a situation like this, Vickers was quick to reply what his brother has built his career on.

“He was always about country and community,” Vickers said.

“He started out as a constable at 20 years of age and rose across the country in the force before becoming a Sergeant-at-Arms. He’s always been about service to country and community and he certainly exemplified that today because when the nation called upon him today, he did what needed to be done.”

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Vickers described his older brother’s career path as meteoric. He went from a small town in New Brunswick to rising through the ranks of the RCMP and then eventually to Sergeant-at-Arms.

“He’s been involved in various capacities in the RCMP and nothing surprises me about my big brother,” Vickers said.

“He’s always embraced community and country and lived that all his life and his career has been a testament to that.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He's been involved in various capacities in the RCMP and nothing surprises me about my big brother," Vickers said.</p><p>"He's always embraced community and country and lived that all his life and his career has been a testament to that."

There’s no doubt Vickers has enormous amounts of pride for his brother and it’s only matched by equal amounts of relief that he’s safe.