#BBCTrending: Kevin Vickers hailed as Canadian hero

On Wednesday afternoon, after Canadian House of Commons Sgt-at-arms Kevin Vickers reportedly shot a gunman in a parliament building in Ottawa, he was hailed on Twitter as Canada's hero.

Before his name was announced on news outlets like the BBC, he was trending on social media. By the end of the day more than 15,000 people had tweeted about his actions.

Vickers is reported to have killed Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who officials say opened fire in Canada's parliament minutes after a soldier was shot dead at an Ottawa war memorial.

As sergeant-at-arms, Vickers is in charge of security at parliament, though that rarely means resorting to gunfire.

Canadians showed their appreciation online, with Twitter user @KristiColleen even declaring he should be made "King or something".

She's since changed her Twitter background to a 2005 McSweeny's list of "Reasons to Fear Canada" ("Never had a 'disco phase,'" for one).

"Didn't know who Kevin Vickers was a couple hours ago. Now I feel like every Canadian town should have a school named after him," one man wrote.

Canada's capital buildings were locked down during the incident, and many politicians took a moment to thank Vickers for his service.

Peter McKay, Canada's minister of justice tweeted, "To all in Ottawa, stay safe & strong. Thank God for Sgt at Arms Kevin Vickers & our Cdn security forces. True heroes #cndpoli."

Vickers's previous claim to viral fame was June 2011, when he escorted a former page-turned-protestor out of the Senate.

He remains ever committed to his duties. More than nine hours after the first reports of the shooting, Toronto Star reporter Tonda MacCharles reported from the scene:

"Kevin Vickers is still overseeing the security operation up at Centre Block where lockdown is still on,"

Reported by Micah Luxen

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