The fatal shooting of a soldier at the National War Memorial was “in retaliation for Afghanistan” and Canada's mission in Iraq, according to a cellphone video made by the gunman moments before the attack.

In video he filmed before his attack, Parliament Hill shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau says he is "aiming to hit some soldiers just to show that you’re not even safe in your own land, you gotta be careful.”

Zehaf-Bibeau says Canada has “officially become one of our enemies by fighting and bombing us and creating a lot of terror in our countries and killing us and killing our innocents.”

He ends with a warning that “we’ll not cease until you guys decide to be a peaceful country and stay to your own."

RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson released the video at an open session of the House of Commons public safety committee Friday. Zehaf-Bibeau recorded the video on his cellphone as he sat in his car near 464 Metcalfe St., about a dozen blocks from the memorial.

Paulson later told reporters that Zehaf-Bibeau was alone in the car at the time.

The cellphone was found by investigators in the car Zehaf-Bibeau was using on Oct. 22, when he shot Cpl. Nathan Cirillo from behind as the young reservist stood guard at the National War Memorial. Zehaf Bibeau then rushed, gun in hand, to nearby Parliament Hill.

He died while exchanging gunfire with RCMP and Parliament Hill security, including then-Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.

Zehaf-Bibeau “was shot many, many times,” Paulson said.

As he presented the video, Paulson told MPs that 18 seconds has been edited out, 13 seconds at the beginning and five seconds at the end. He would not reveal the force’s reasons for doing so, citing “operational decisions.”

Paulson later told reporters that he would “hurt the investigation” if he released the entire video, “and I don’t want to do that.

“The essence of what he had to say is before you now.”

In a statement, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said the video “is a stark reminder of how Canadians must remain vigilant against the real threat of terrorism at home and abroad.”

Shooter ‘was a terrorist’

During his remarks to the committee, Paulson reviewed what authorities know of Zehaf-Bibeau’s life prior to the attacks, including that he “became increasingly aligned with terrorist ideology in the last years of his life while living in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and, for a short period, in Alberta.”

Paulson said the force believes that Zehaf-Bibeau “was a terrorist.” Had he survived the shootout on Parliament Hill, Zehaf-Bibeau would have been charged with terror-related offences, Paulson said.

“Anyone who aided him, abetted him, counselled him, facilitated his crimes or conspired with him is also in our view a terrorist and where the evidence exists we will charge them with terrorist offences,” Paulson said.

The investigation into the attack is ongoing, Paulson said, and it remains unclear what, if any, help Zehaf-Bibeau received. Investigators are focused on identifying anyone who “actively contributed to his development and his radicalization,” Paulson said.

Under questioning from MPs, Paulson said “it’s difficult to say” how broad a network may have been involved in last October’s attack.

“On the one hand, the entire jihadist movement is an inspiring state of being that is attracting and developing some of these individuals,” Paulson said. “I also think and I am persuaded that Zehaf-Bibeau didn’t come to this act alone.”

It will be “an uphill battle” to identify and charge others in connection with the attack, Paulson said.

So far, more than 400 people have been interviewed in connection with the case, he said.

The Ontario Provincial Police are conducting a separate investigation into the events inside the Parliament buildings.

While updating the committee on his force’s investigation, Paulson said investigators have not been able to confirm the origins of Zehaf-Bibeau’s gun. He released a picture Friday in the hope that someone will recognize it.

Investigators did not find any other weapons in Zehaf-Bibeau’s car or among his personal possessions, Paulson said. When Zehaf-Bibeau died, he did have a knife tied to one of his wrists, he said.

A toxicology screening conducted as part of the autopsy on Zehaf-Bibeau was negative for drugs and alcohol, Paulson said.