Senators-Maple Leafs Game Postponed Amid Ottawa Shootings, NHL Issues Condolences To Victims

The NHL has postponed Wednesday night’s scheduled game between the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs amid the shootings at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, National War Memorial and the Rideau Center. The hockey game had been slated for 7 p.m. EDT at the Canadian Tire Centre in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, about 15 miles away from where the shootings occurred.

“The date and time of the rescheduled game will be announced at a later date,” the NHL announced. “The National Hockey League wishes to express its sympathy to all affected by the tragic events that took place this morning in downtown Ottawa.”

Most of downtown Ottawa was in lockdown, as were members of the Maple Leafs who are staying at a hotel located across from the National War Memorial, where a Canadian soldier was shot dead Wednesday morning. Senators team president Cyril Leeder told Toronto radio station FAN 590 that some Maple Leafs players “could hear the shots going off from their rooms,” according to Hope Smoke, a Maple Leafs blogger.

The Senators remained in a “controlled lockdown at the Canadian Tire Centre,” Leeder added. “Our thoughts are with everyone involved in what is happening on Parliament Hill and Confederation Square this morning,” the team said on its Twitter account. “Stay safe, Ottawa.”

The same gunman who shot the soldier at the War Memorial then entered Parliament and opened fire, police and eyewitnesses told the Associated Press. Shots were also fired at a nearby shopping mall.

A suspected gunman was shot and killed at Parliament, Reuters reported. Police say there was more than one shooter.

The soldier shot at the War Memorial has died, while a guard at Parliament was wounded, Cabinet Minister Jason Kenney said. “Condolences to family of the soldier killed, & prayers for the Parliamentary guard wounded. Canada will not be terrorized or intimidated,” he wrote on Twitter.