Edmonton truck attack suspect fit to stand trial
Further assessment will determine his mental stability at the time of the attacks
EDMONTON Them an accused of running down an Edmonton police officer and four pedestrians Sept. 30 has been found fit to stand trial after an assessment at Alberta Hospital. However, it will take another 30 days to determine if he was mentally stable at the time of the attacks.
Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30, appeared in provincial court by phone Friday from Alberta Hospital, where he has undergone one of two assessments.
Medical professionals still need to assess his mental health so a judge can determine if he could be criminally responsible for his actions at the time of the alleged offence, including whether he understood his actions, right from wrong, and if he had the ability to control his behaviour.
Sharif was arrested and charged with a string of offences after the attacks, including five counts of attempted murder. He is accused of striking Edmonton police Const. Mike Chernyk with his car and stabbing him, then hours later driving a rented truck down Jas- per Avenue, mowing down four pedestrians.
Sharif last appeared in court Dec. 12. The case was adjourned until Friday because the assessments, ordered in November, could not be completed because of a shortage of hospital beds.
He did not speak during his brief phone appearance, except to tell the Somali language interpreter that he was having trouble hearing the proceedings.
Karanpal Aujla, Sharif’s lawyer, said an assessment determined his client would be able to understand court proceedings. However, Alberta Hospital asked for more time to complete the not-criminally-responsible assessment.
He added while Sharif “may be fine now … maybe at the time of the offences, perhaps that wasn’t the case, and that’s what the second assessment is going to determine.”
A Statistics Canada analysis showed that between 2005 and 2012 fewer than 10 in 10,000 adult criminal court cases ended with a final decision of not criminally responsible.
Edmonton police initially said they were investigating the incidents as acts of terrorism, and that an Islamic State flag was recovered from Sharif’s car. Terrorism charges have not been laid, but the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSET) have not ruled out the possibility.
Sharif’s next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 12.