Five Hurt In Edmonton Terror Attack

An attack on an Edmonton police officer at about 8:15 pm on Saturday outside a football game culminated in a high-speed chase that left four other people injured. The incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack and began when the suspect crashed his car through a barricade outside the stadium, hitting the officer. He then got out of the car and stabbed the officer several times before fleeing the scene on foot. A flag of the Islamic State militant group was found inside the suspect’s car and the police mounted a search for him. He was found a few hours later at a checkpoint while driving a U-Haul vehicle and fled when he was recognized by police.

As the police chased him across a crowded street downtown, he deliberately hit pedestrians and was finally caught when the vehicle flipped over after hitting and injuring four pedestrians who were taken to a hospital. The officer is said to be responding to treatment while the condition of the others is not yet known. Prior to finding the suspect at the checkpoint, the police had told the press that a manhunt for him was underway, but assured them that it constituted no threat to the public. Hence, some have argued that the high-speed chase of the suspect should never have taken place on such busy streets – it happened just before midnight and the streets were filled with bar patrons and football fans. However, the police chief of Edmonton has insisted that the officers had to conduct the chase “due to the seriousness of the offence — or the believed offence.”

Police believe the 30-year old man arrested for these attacks acted alone and Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson told reporters on Sunday that “there’s no immediate cause for panic or concern.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also condemned the attack in a statement that called it “another example of the hate that we must remain ever vigilant against.” There have however been fears over the backlash against Muslims that the attack could generate and already, on social media, the incident has triggered a torrent of hate messages mostly directed at Muslims. Muslim leaders have tried to get ahead of this and the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council denounced the attack and organized a rally on Sunday evening to bring the community together. Also, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, after thanking first responders for their bravery throughout the incident, urged the public to avoid lashing out.

The Edmonton police chief has also noted that the incidents were being investigated as terrorism “based on evidence at the scenes and the actions of the suspect.” Yet, the Canadian government has decided to leave the terror threat level at medium, where it has been since 2014. The most recent terror attack in Canada prior to this took place in January when a French-Canadian university student was charged with killing six people inside a Quebec City mosque. Some observers regard the events of Saturday as a sign that patterns of terrorism that have been occurring in Europe – individuals inspired by ISIS using cars and a knife to commit terror attacks – have found their way into Canada. However, this seemingly isolated event hardly proves this claim.

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