Canadian Parliament under lockdown after 'multiple' gunmen 'KILLED soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial before opening fire in the Parliament halls'

A gunman killed a Canadian soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa today before multiple gunmen fired dozens of shots inside the halls of Parliament.

Police said multiple gunmen opened fire inside the building, but one was shot dead by the House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms, witnesses said.

A massive police hunt is underway across Ottawa for the second gunman still believed to be at large.

The shooting spree began at 9.52am, as the leaders of Parliament were holding their weekly meetings. Witnesses reported seeing a gunman climb out of a car, grab a rifle, shoot the soldier in the abdomen and then run towards Parliament.

Ottawa police received a call at 9.54am that shots had been heard inside the building, while journalists cowering inside said they heard dozens of rounds and could smell gunpowder in the halls.

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Gunned down: A soldier, in his 30s, is raced to an ambulance after he was fatally shot in the abdomen by a gunman as he stood guard at the National War Memorial outside the Canadian Parliament this morning

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Race: Emergency personnel tend to the soldier after he was shot at the National Memorial just before 10am

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Race: An Ottawa police officer runs with his weapon drawn outside Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday after multiple gunmen attacked the Parliament and a nearby mall, injuring at least three people

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Attacks: Ottawa police said there were shootings at the War Memorial and at the Parliament. They initially thought there was a shooting at the Rideau Centre mall, but have since said this was not the case

Gunshots ring out inside Canadian Parliament

A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Harper was safe after being evacuated from Parliament Hill. He will make a statement about the attacks later today.

He had been scheduled to give Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, co-winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, her Canadian citizenship today.

The incident also comes just two days after two Canadian soldiers were run over - and one of them killed - in Quebec by a man with jihadist sympathies.