Three days after a gunman killed a soldier and stormed the Canadian Parliament building in Ottawa before being shot down, Canadians have returned to the grounds of their parliament building on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The grounds of the hilltop gothic building, whose clock tower is a centerpiece of Ottawa's skyline, attracted scores of visitors, many still stunned by Wednesday's attack, even as police milled around the grounds.

"I'm here reflecting. My grandson is in the military and I have four brothers who served in World War Two," said Rosemary Errington, 80, a retiree from Sault Ste. Marie visiting the site with family. "It really hits home."

Described to be a recent Islamic convert, gunman Michael Zehif-Bibeau had been heading into Parliament Hill with a rifle in hand when 58-year-old Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers intercepted him before the gunman could have potentially harmed dozens of lawmakers, Reuters reported. His first victim, 24-year-old Corporal Nathan Cirillo, had earlier been gunned down while standing a ceremonial watch at a monument to Canada's war dead near Parliament Hill.

Although the parliament building remained closed to the public on Saturday, House Speaker Andrew Scheer assured the public that it would reopen for tours and visits on Monday, according to Ottawa Citizen.

"It is very important to me that they reopened Parliament Hill. Terrorism won't stop Canada from being open and people going about their lives," said Alex Borisenko, 25, a software developer living in Ottawa.

"I know that there are measures to increase security, but having Parliament Hill open without a huge police presence stopping the public from coming in is very important and symbolic to Canada's openness as a country."

Meanwhile, after strict laws against terrorism were introduced by Canadian officials on Friday, a former CIA official is raising concerns that the United States might be targeted next for a possible terrorist attack, according to Thursday's interview on "CBS This Morning."

Mike Morell, the former deputy director of the CIA, stated that the U.S. stands at "a very dangerous time here" following multiple foreign terror threats.