Refugee from Somalia faces terror charges in Edmonton attacks
Despite being found to have a Daesh flag in his car, suspect is believed to have acted alone in stabbing and van attack
Police and politicians urged Canadians to be vigilant, but called for calm and unity in the wake of a terrorist attack in Edmonton that injured five and led to the arrest of a 30-year-old suspect who had previously been investigated for espousing extremist views.
It is the second major terrorist attack in Canada this year, following January’s shooting at a mosque in Quebec City that killed six and injured 19.
CBC News identified the Edmonton suspect on Sunday as Abdulahi Hasan Sharif. Police and federal officials would only confirm that the man in custody is a refugee from Somalia and that he had been interviewed by the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team in 2015.
But RCMP Assistant Commissioner Marlin Degrand said there had been insufficient evidence to charge him or issue a peace bond at the time and he was not considered a national security threat.
The man is now facing terrorism charges and five counts of attempted murder. Police also confirmed that the black flag of Daesh was found in the suspect’s car Saturday, but he is believed to have acted alone. According to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, the accused was on a police watch list, and yet when Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht was asked if there had been any warning of an impending attack, he responded, “absolutely not.”
Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement calling the crime “another example of the hate that we must remain ever vigilant against.”
“We cannot — and will not — let violent extremism take root in our communities. We know that Canada’s strength comes from our diversity, and we will not be cowed by those who seek to divide us or promote fear,” he said. An Edmonton police officer, Const. Mike Chernyk, was among the wounded and was praised for his actions, along with other first responders who arrested the suspect just after midnight. Chernyk was released from hospital hours after the attack, despite suffering stab wounds to his face and body. Two of the four injured pedestrians were also back at home Sunday.
Chernyk was on a routine shift controlling traffic outside an Edmonton Eskimos football game near Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night when the attack began. It was a “military appreciation night” where Canada’s chief of defence staff, Gen. Jonathan Vance, had conducted the pre-game coin flip and two CF-18 fighter jets soared overhead before the kickoff. According to The Canadian Press, more than 800 Boy Scouts were expected at the game and many were planning to camp out on the field afterward.
Around 8:15 p.m. local time, a Chevy Malibu crashed through a traffic barrier and struck Chernyk. Knecht said the car approached “suddenly, without notice, and at a high rate of speed,” sending the officer flying five metres into the air.
The suspect then got out of the car, ran to the fallen constable and repeatedly stabbed him. Grainy video footage of the crime was released Sunday and appears to show Chernyk struggling with the man, then following him as he flees.
Found in the car were documents that identified the suspect, along with the distinctive black flag that the group Daesh erected over its socalled Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Afew hours later, a U-Haul van was stopped at a police checkpoint north of Edmonton’s downtown. An officer, who asked the driver for his licence, noted that the name was close to that of the registered owner of the white Malibu, Knecht said.
The van then sped off, while the officer returned to his cruiser to call for backup.
Knecht told journalists it is “always a difficult decision to make — to chase a vehicle or let it go,” but, fearing that the U-Haul would be used as a weapon, police pursued the van. During the chase, the four pedestrians were hit. Knecht said the suspect intentionally swerved to hit pedestrians at crosswalks and in alleyways.
Using a vehicle as a weapon is not uncommon for violent extremists — from multiple attacks in Europe by suspected Daesh adherents, to an alleged white supremacist extremist in Charolettesville, Va.
As is often the case following terror attacks, the viciousness of the crime quickly gave way to a vicious discourse on social media — peaking when reports emerged that the suspect was a refugee claimant. (Later reports clarified that he was a refugee.)
The National Council of Canadian Muslims quickly condemned the “senseless” attacks. Executive director Ihsaan Gardee said that such incidents call for solidarity.
“The issue of backlash, you can’t help but think about, of course, but first and foremost our thoughts are with the victims and families,” he said. “The community stands shoul- der to shoulder with all Canadians in condemning this horrific kind of act, regardless of who perpetrates them. We need to look at this together and stand united.”
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley vowed to do all in her power to stop terrorism in its tracks. “Freedom and liberty are core to who we are as Albertans, and that core can never be divided by those who know only fear, violence and hatred,” she told media Sunday morning.
Alexandra Bain, an associate professor of religious studies at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., and the executive director of Hayat Canada Family Support, lamented the fact that violent extremism “seems to be a hallmark of the modern world.”
Before leading Hayat, a family counselling group that offers programs for relatives and friends of those involved in violent extremism, Bain researched extremism by following 1,500 jihadist Twitter accounts and conducting lengthy interviews with 30 members of Daesh and Al Qaeda affiliates fighting in Syria, as well as another 30 online jihadist sympathizers.
But Bain notes that, “when you look at the statistics, Canada has far more to worry about (with) violent extremists from the far right, such as white supremacists or neo-Nazis” than with groups like Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
She said Canada remains unique, compared to Europe, which has suffered multiple attacks in the past few years and where thousands of young Muslims succumbed to Daesh propaganda.
“Canadian Muslims, much like their counterparts in the U.S., have a much different experience than their fellow European Muslims. Muslim immigrants to Europe usually come from countries that have been previously colonized. Their status as second-generation immigrants has resulted in their being marginalized, and they suffer from a great deal of discrimination,” Bain said.
“In Canada, many of the young people who are recruited or influenced by groups such as ISIS are often either converts to Islam . . . or secondgeneration Muslims who have rejected their parents’ traditional Islam. A great number, if not most, of these young people have suffered from some form of mental illness.”