‘Lone wolf’ terrorist in officer attack and van rampage, police say

A CAR and knife attack on a police officer and a high-speed chase of a van that left four people injured were the work of a single suspected terrorist, Canadian authorities said.

Edmonton police chief Rod Knecht said officers took the suspect, later described as a 30-yearold Edmonton man, into custody and he is believed to have acted alone. Mr Knecht said an Islamic State group flag was found in the car that hit the officer, and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau called it a terror attack.

“To the best of our knowledge, this was a lone wolf attack,” Edmonton mayor Don Iveson said.

The incident happened outside a Canadian Football League game at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night. Police released a video showing a white Chevrolet Malibu ramming into a police officer standing in front of his cruiser.

The officer was sent flying in the air while the Malibu crashed into the police car.

The driver then gets out and appears to stab the officer.

“Seeing the video is very upsetting because of the level of violence,” Mr Iveson said. Mr Knecht said the suspect fled on foot after stabbing the officer.

The officer was taken to a hospital and treated for nonlife-threatening injuries while a manhunt was launched, and Mr Knecht said his condition was “not critical”. A few hours later, a U-Haul van was stopped at a checkpoint north of downtown, on Wayne Gretzky Drive.

Mr Knecht said the name of the driver was similar to the name of the registered owner of the car that hit the officer. He said the van then sped off toward downtown with police in pursuit.

Police say the vehicle swerved at pedestrians at crosswalks throughout the chase.

Four people were hurt, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately known.

The van eventually flipped near a downtown hotel and the suspect was arrested. Mr Knecht said the man was known to police but did not release his name.

“It is believed at this time that these two incidents are related,” Mr Knecht said. “It was determined that these incidents are being investigated as acts of terrorism.”