Attack in Edmonton: the suspect will be charged with terrorism

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QMI agency

Sunday, October 1, 2017 18:28

UPDATE
Sunday, 1 October 2017 18:32

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EDMONTON, A somali refugee who was in the crosshairs of the authorities was to be accused of terrorism for having caught up and stabbed a policeman, and have charged four pedestrians while driving a truck late on Saturday night, in Edmonton.

During a press conference Sunday afternoon, chief of Edmonton police Rod Knecht reported that the suspect, identified as Abdulahi Hasan Sharif by Global News, would have attracted the attention of authorities as early as 2015, when he began to be interested in “extremist ideologies”.

The suspect of 30 years is expected to face several charges, including attempted murder and dangerous driving, as well as charges related to terrorism. The police said that all leads us to believe that he acted alone.

Attempted murder and man-hunt

The mad spree of the man in the heart of Edmonton started around 20: 15 on Saturday night. It would be so dark in the car on Mike Chernyk, a police officer assigned to traffic, he was sent flying 15 feet away. This happened near Commonwealth stadium, where took place a football match between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“A man of about 30 years then got out of his vehicle and began to stab viciously the police officer with a knife before fleeing on foot,” explained the chief Knecht.

A video from a surveillance camera showing the suspect to pounce on the police, and then stab him while witnesses take flight, was unveiled Sunday morning.

The police officer was transported to the hospital where he received care for injuries that did not put his life in danger. Despite the violence of the assault, Mr. Chernyk was discharged from the hospital on Sunday.

After this first attack, the suspect fled on foot, leaving his Chevrolet Malibu white on the scene of the assault. The investigators have found this car a flag with the colors of the organization islamic State.

Man hunt

A few hours later, shortly before midnight, police intercepted a truck U-Haul in front of a dam installed at the intersection of Wayne Gretzky Drive and 112th Avenue. They then made the link between the name on the licence of the driver and the name of the owner of the Chevrolet.

The truck driver immediately fled, pursued by a dozen police cars. During the chase, the suspect intentionally tried to hit pedestrians, happant four people in total before that his truck does not spill out.

The four victims have suffered a variety of injuries, ranging from ribs broken in a fracture of the skull for one of them. Two of the four pedestrians were still in the hospital Sunday mid-day.

“There were people who revolaient. I’m shocked”, told the Edmonton Journal a woman who was a witness to the events, Kim Anderson.

A man has attended in the last act of the prosecution, when the truck overturned. “The police took him out through the windscreen, and then handcuffed,” said Pat Hannigan daily.

The royal Canadian mounted police (RCMP) collaborated in the investigation. “We ask the population to remain vigilant and report any suspicious behavior to the police service or 1 800 420-5805,” wrote the federal police on his Twitter account.