(Adds full text of mother's e-mail)

The mother of the man identified as Ottawa gunman has said she is crying for the victims of the shooting, not her son.

Susan Bibeau said she did not know what to say to those hurt in the attack.

"Can you ever explain something like this?" she said. "We are sorry."

Authorities have identified the shooter as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, whose gun rampage in the Canadian capital was stopped cold when he was shot to death by parliament's ceremonial sergeant-at-arms.

One victim was killed and two other people were wounded in the attack.

Here is the full text of a statement issued to the Associated Press by the parents of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.

The statement was in response to an AP email which asked about reports that their son was mentally unstable or otherwise vulnerable.

"Hi, I am writing this note on behalf of my husband and myself. No words can express the sadness we are feeling at this time.

We are so sad that a man lost his life. He has lost everything and he leaves behind a family that must feel nothing but pain and sorrow. We send our deepest condolences to them although words seem pretty useless.

We are both crying for them. We also wish to apologise for all the pain, fright and chaos he created. We have no explanation to offer.

I am mad at our son, I don't understand and part of me wants to hate him at this time. You write that our son was vulnerable, we don't know, we (he) was lost and did not fit in.

I his mother spoke with him last week over lunch, I had not seen him for over five years before that. So I have very little insight to offer.

We don't wish to be part of any media circus, we don't think it will add anything to the conversation. Please respect our privacy although many may not feel we deserve any ... Once again we are so sorry.

Susan Bibeau and Bulgasem Zehaf"

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