Michael Zehaf-Bibeau reportedly had a history of drug use, a criminal record, and had been asked to leave the mosque where he prayed after acting “erratic.”
The Canadian-born man ambushed a soldier guarding the National War Memorial, killing him at point-blank range, then stormed the country's Parliament and opened fire. Prime Minister Stephen Harper called it a terrorist attack.
Zehaf-Bibeau converted to Islam at least three years ago, and had a history of criminal and drug-related charges. A friend said he began to show "disturbing" behavior in recent years and may have been mentally ill, the Globe and Mail reported.
Zehaf-Bibeau was born Michael Joseph Hall in Quebec in 1982 to businessman Bulgasem Zehaf, who went to fight in Libya as recently as 2011, and deputy chair of a division of Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board, Susan Bibeau. The couple divorced in 1999, the Globe and Mail reported.
He grew up in eastern Canada, living in both Ottawa and Montreal, before moving to western Canada. He was employed at one point as a laborer.
Bibeau has homes in Montreal and Ottawa, but told the the Associated Press on Thursday that she had not seen her son for over five years—until last week when they met for lunch.
"So I have very little insight to offer," Bibeau said.
She also said that she is crying for the victims, not for her son.
"Can you ever explain something like this?" she added. "We are sorry."
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