Ottawa Gunman Staked Out Parliament Prior to Attack

A gunman who stormed Canada's parliament last month had staked out the neo-Gothic building prior to the attack, local media said Thursday.

The daily Ottawa Citizen and broadcaster CTV cited anonymous sources saying security cameras captured Michael Zehaf-Bibeau taking a public tour of parliament on October 4.

Two weeks later, he went on a rampage, killing an unarmed soldier at Ottawa's war memorial before storming the nearby halls of parliament, where he died in a shootout with security.

The Citizen suggested this points to premeditation.

It also said Zehaf-Bibeau, inspired by videos of the Islamic State group's killings of captives, may have intended to behead a Canadian politician in the attack.

The newspaper said he was armed with a knife taken from his aunt's home in Mont Tremblant, 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of Ottawa, the day before the shooting.