Who Is Nathan Cirillo? Soldier Killed In Ottawa Shooting 2014 Identified

The soldier killed in the Ottawa shooting at Canada's National War Memorial was identified as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, CBC News confirmed Wednesday. Cirillo, 24, was a reservist from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada regiment who served in Hamilton, Ontario.

He was guarding the National War Memorial when he died, Ottawa police announced at a press conference. "Remember how one person's life has been taken -- from his family, from his friends, from the future that was supposed to be his," said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, according to the news site.

"Our thoughts are with the member and the members of his family at this time," said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud at the press conference.

Cirillo was an active social media user whose last post was on the INK361 social media site two days before his death, The Star wrote. In a picture he wore Argyll regalia and captioned the image, “Just another day at work.” Multiple friends commented on the photo after his passing, saying they were praying for him.

A picture of him in regalia standing in front of the war memorial was posted to the Argylls of Canada--91st Canadian Highlanders Facebook page Sunday, the news site said.

Members of the Argylls have been ordered not to speak about the incident, a source told CBC News in Hamilton. “They are now all on communication lockdown,” the insider said. “They’ve been told to put their phones away and all bases are all locked down.”

The Argylls is one of the largest army reserve units in Canada and consists of 250 soldiers. They are an infantry unit of the Canadian Forces primary reserves.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday the shootings in Ottawa highlight the "degree to which we have to remain vigilant," CNN reported. He told reporters: "We don't yet have all the information about what motivated the shooting. We don't yet have all the information about whether this was part of a broader network, or plan, or whether this was an individual, or series of individuals, who decided to take these actions."

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