STABBING SUSPECT FACES NINE CHARGES
‘He’s just a very sick person who needs help,’ distraught relatives say
Ayanle Hassan Ali walked alone into the Canadian Forces recruitment office Monday afternoon, then the tall, bearded man — now accused of attempting to murder three military officers — allegedly uttered a statement that transformed a disturbing assault into a possible terrorist attack.
“Allah told me to do this. Allah told me to come here and kill people,” Ali is said to have declared, moments before he was subdued by army members, according to Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders.
But as the details of the attack became clearer Tuesday, the possible motivations turned murky, suggesting the case may not have been simply a “lone wolf” terrorist attack.
Separate sources close to the family told the Star that Ali, 27, had been struggling with both family and mental-health issues.
“This has nothing, nothing to do with crazy terrorist organizations,” Mariam Adam, a first cousin of Ali’s mother, told the Star of the attack.
“He’s just a very sick person who needs help,” added Adam, who lives in the United States and who lived for a time with the accused.
Ali, who has no previous convictions, now faces nine charges stemming from the mid-day attack, including three counts of attempted murder against members of the Canadian Forces: Ryan Kong, Jesus Castillo and Tracy Ann Gerhardt. Gerhardt escaped unharmed, while Kong and Castillo were treated for minor stab wounds.
“We are trying to develop a timeline. We want to know who knew Mr. Ali and where he has been.”
MARK SAUNDERS
TORONTO POLICE CHIEF
Castillo was recovering Tuesday night, according to his evening commanding officer.
“He’s at home with his family. Everything’s good,” Lt. Col. Chris Stewardson told the Star. Stewardson described Castillo as a hard-working professional, “a fine soldier who is . . . looking forward to getting back to serving the people of Canada and the residents of Toronto.”
The Montreal-born Ali is also facing two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of assault with a weapon and one count of possessing a weapon (for a dangerous purpose). The charges have not been proven in court.
His eyes downcast, wearing a white hooded jumpsuit, Ali made a brief court appearance Tuesday afternoon, and will be held in custody until a bail hearing this week.
David Burke, Ali’s lawyer, said his client is very scared and “very unhappy to be in the position he finds himself in today.” But he said it is too early to speculate on his client’s mental health, and he’s not at the point of looking to have him assessed.
“This is a very serious incident, nobody can deny that,” Burke said, when asked if the charges were an overreaction. “I wouldn’t say that, but at the end of the day, it remains to be seen exactly what kind of a person we are dealing with.”
Burke said he would only seek bail if the appropriate sureties are in place.
In a news conference Tuesday morning, Saunders provided more details of the attack, saying Ali entered the Canadian Forces recruiting centre — on the first floor of the Joseph Shepard Building, on Yonge St. just north of Sheppard Ave. — just before 3 p.m. Monday.
Walking swiftly into the building, carrying a large knife, Ali attempted to walk past a master corporal working at the front desk, prompting that officer to ask Ali what he was doing. Saunders said Ali then attacked, striking the officer then slashing him with a knife on the upper arm.
He then allegedly moved further into the recruitment centre and attempted to slash Tracy Ann Gerhardt, another uniformed member, who escaped unscathed. He moved on, travelling further into the office while military staff quickly corralled civilians into a safe location.
Members of the military then subdued him until police arrived. Both Kong and Castillo — two military personnel injured, one of whom was staffing the front desk — were taken to hospital but have since been released.
Ali didn’t co-operate with police after he was arrested, said Saunders, who said the accused was “unresponsive to any questions that were being asked.” He was taken to the hospital after he was arrested.
Saunders stressed that the multiagency investigation — which in- cludes the RCMP and CSIS — is still in the early stages, and appealed to anyone with information to come forward to police. He would not rule out terrorism, but Saunders warned he also did not want anyone jumping to assumptions without all the information — “don’t go to that Islamophobic nonsense,” he said.
Saunders added that there was no information to indicate Ali was working with others or as part of a larger organization, though the investigation is ongoing. It is too early to say if Ali had been radicalized, he said, calling for the public to come forward with more information.
He appealed to anyone who knows Ali or who saw anything suspicious around the recruiting centre on Monday afternoon to contact police.
“We are trying to develop a timeline,” Saunders said. “We want to know who knew Mr. Ali and where he has been.”
Speaking to media Tuesday morning, Maj. Richard Silva said it was “business as usual” for Canadian Forces workers on Tuesday morning, a message reiterated by Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, in a statement later in the day.
“Our men and women will continue to proudly wear their uniforms in public,” Vance said.
In a tweet Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada’s military would “not be intimidated by terror and hate.” He also wished the injured soldiers a full recovery.
On Tuesday afternoon, broken police tape marked the entrance of the building in Etobicoke where he lived with his mother and sister, and two police officers stood in the hallway outside the apartment door.
Just before 6:30 p.m., officers from 32 Division executed a search warrant at the home, equipped with gloves and cameras. Neighbours Abdi Abdi and Mohamed Ali said they often played basketball near the apartment with the accused.
“He was nice, really respectful,” said Abdi, a teenager. “I was really surprised by what happened.” With files from Verity Stephenson, Christopher Reynolds, Allan Woods, Robert Benzie, Tonda MacCharles, Sarah-Joyce Battersby, Michael Yang, Vjosa Isai and Peter Edwards