SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Northwest Territories' MP Dennis Bevington was in the air on the way to Yellowknife when an unknown number of gunmen stormed Parliament Buildings and the National War Memorial in Ottawa Wednesday morning.

Bevington, who is also vice chair of the Arctic Council, is in town to observe a meeting at the Explorer Hotel tonight and tomorrow night. He told Yellowknifer he can't remember the last time he wasn't in Ottawa mid-week while Parliament is in session.

It was when his Canadian North flight landed in Yellowknife at 9:30 a.m. that Bevington said he realized what had happened while his fellow caucus members were in a routine meeting in Ottawa.

"There would have been upward of 90 people in the committee room next to the main foyer of the House of Commons where the shooting took place," he explained.

"I talked to them by cell phone, it was very disturbing for them . it was just a barrage of shots and if you're in that chamber there are enormous echoes. It would be simply deafening what went on in there."

Bevington also confirmed his Ottawa legislative assistants, Doug Johnson and Stella Desjarlais, are safe and not under lockdown with the rest of Parliament Hill.

Johnson is attending an Arctic conference on the coast guard and Desjarlais "was just arriving on the bus (in Ottawa) when the incident occurred and she just turned around and left."

Johnson and Desjarlais are both from Yellowknife.

Matthew Grogono, one of five Yellowknifers who received bravery medals in Ottawa Tuesday morning for evacuating a float plane that crashed in Old Town in 2011, was on a layover in Calgary Wednesday morning when he heard about what happened.

"My partner and I are fine," he said.

"What timing, just yesterday morning we were at Rideau Hall."

Downtown Ottawa remained on lockdown Wednesday morning after 30 to 50 shots were fired in the Parliament Buildings and fatally wounded a soldier at the National War Memorial. Ottawa police confirmed one male suspect is dead and no other suspects were in custody as of noon Wednesday.

Media inquiries to Joint Task Forces North in Yellowknife were redirected to the Department of National Defence in Ottawa.

The Prime Minister's Office issued a press release confirming Prime Minister Stephen Harper is safe and not on Parliament Hill.

NWT senator Nick Sibbeston did not return phone calls Wednesday.