10 years later, bystanders who rushed to the aid of a fallen soldier and the tragedy that changed them

The crisp autumn air, reminiscent of falling leaves, brings back a lot of memories for Martin Magnan.

“It gives me goosebumps. I’m not afraid, but it’s uncomfortable,” Magnan said in French in an interview with Radio-Canada. “The first time it gets cold because of the wind, it’s a clear reminder.”

Magnan, then a spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs, was walking past the National War Memorial on the morning of Oct. 22, 2014, when he heard gunshots. He rushed towards the fallen corporal. Nathan Cirillo, who was mortally wounded while standing guard.

“In my head I only heard: React, let’s go!” – recalled Magnan.

He remembers holding Cirillo’s hand and being instructed to lift the soldier’s legs while he and other bystanders tried to revive him.

“The moments became longer, and time itself became shorter,” said Magnan, who also recalled feeling intense cold at that moment.

It took him years to realize the full impact that the events of that morning had on him.

“I felt lost for a long time. I was living through the consequences without even realizing it,” he said. “I haven’t slept for a long time. I walked all night. One morning I woke up in the park.

“I no longer had the strength or means to manage my personal life.”

“We are all on the path to healing.”

In an interview years after the attack, Magnan said he talks to Cirillo whenever he passes the monument and regularly visits the site on his way to work or during lunch.

“I feel good here. It’s like my backyard,” he said of the towering monument and tree-lined plaza in downtown Ottawa.

Magnan said he still has some treatment to go.

“I hope this moment made me a better person. I understand much more that everyone has their own experience and lives with their own grief,” he said. “We are all on a healing journey to become better people and overcome our problems.”

A photo of Magnan and other bystanders who ran up to Cirillo sits on Margaret Lehr’s desk in her Ottawa home, a reminder of a “very important day” in her life.

Ten years ago, the former nurse was walking past the National War Memorial when shots rang out.

“I just remember standing on the steps and asking myself, am I ready to help?” she remembered.

Others asked themselves the same question. “Everyone came from literally different directions,” Lehr said.

According to Lehr, the group of strangers quickly formed a team, each playing a vital role as if they were working in an intensive care unit. Their focus was on Cirillo, not on whether the gunman might return.

“It was extraordinary when everyone came together to help Corporal Cirillo. It’s like we’ve worked together many times before,” she said.

“I told him he was loved”

Lera’s training as a nurse helped her focus on her medical task, but she recalls hearing another witness, attorney Barbara Winters, tell Cirillo that he was loved as she held his hand.

“I told him he was loved and he was brave and a good man,” Winters told CBC News shortly after the shooting.

“Your military family loves you,” Winters told Cirillo. “Look at these people, we are all here to help you. We are all trying to do the best we can for you. We all love you.”

Lehr also recalls what the soldier’s mother, Kathy Cirillo, said to her later that day.

“(She said), ‘I don’t think you understand how your life is going to change because of this moment,'” Lehr recalled.

“I couldn’t imagine how things would change at that moment. I couldn’t imagine how she could find the energy or compassion to focus on me when her life was turned upside down. I was in awe of her. “

Purpose and action

Lehr said the unimaginable grief of the Cirillo family and the death of a close friend’s son from cancer soon inspired her to focus on purpose and action in her life.

“Find meaning, do whatever you can to help others,” she said. “Life… can end tragically due to unforeseen circumstances.”

In January after the shooting, Lehr finally took the retirement she had long dreamed of and volunteered. Doctors without help Borders. She has now worked with the charity in more than a dozen countries, including conflict zones.

On the 10th anniversary of the shooting, she would like people to think about how they can help others, like the group of strangers who rushed to the aid of the fallen soldier.

“Everyone stepped forward,” she said. “I hope that the next time someone falls or needs help, a passerby will try to help in any way they can. This is humanity.”

The chief paramedic arrived at the scene

Anthony Di Monte was Ottawa’s chief paramedic and one of the first responders to arrive at the National War Memorial that morning. He was leaving a town hall meeting when he heard a call on the radio about someone without signs of life.

When he arrived at the war memorial, passers-by were already performing CPR.

“They did a great job to help someone,” he said. “I’ve often seen Canadians: when someone gets into trouble, there’s always someone in the crowd who comes and helps.”

As an experienced first responder, Di Monte also recognized the ongoing danger. Nobody knew where the shooter was.

“I knew we weren’t necessarily in a safe zone right now, so my next priority was to ensure the safety of these citizens. But Ottawa police and other officers arrived fairly quickly and secured the scene,” he said.

Di Monte said he understood how a man serving his country could be targeted in the heart of its capital and in such a sacred place.

“I find it as tragic for both the family and his friends as it must be,” he said. “I’m sure every day they get up they should remember him, but definitely on the 10th anniversary.”