Sun adds this: “The suspect drove off after running down the soldiers in the parking lot of an automobile insurance outlet, police said. Cops gave chase and the suspect lost control and rolled his car, which came to rest on its roof at the bottom of a ditch. The suspect allegedly crawled out a window with a long knife. Eyewitnesses say the man charged at a female police officer. ‘I heard them (police) shout several times, “Get out of the car, get out of the car and raise your hands,”‘ one woman said. ‘The man got out towards the police officer. Then that’s when we heard seven gunshots, then the man was on the ground.'”
There is no statement that the suspect was a Muslim, but this CBC News report says it was a “possible terror attack” and that authorities knew of the suspect and “were concerned that he had become radicalized.”
Blazing Cat Fur has a report that he called 9/11 during the chase and said he was acting “in the name of Allah.”
Other instances of possible vehicular jihad have been shrouded in mystery. New York City cabdriver Mohammed Azam ran over two of his passengers for no apparent reason. Another cabbie, Hassan Daly, who was described as a “devout Muslim,” plowed his cab into a crowd on a sidewalk in San Diego, injuring over 24 people. Mohammed Reza Taheri-Azar explicitly grounded his hit-and-run in the teachings of the Koran. Munir Muthana told the police who arrested him that “the Muslims will fix this country.” Omeed Aziz Popal, we were told, was suffering from stress from an arranged marriage. Ismail Yassin Mohamed, we were informed, was mentally ill, suffered from depression, and hadn’t being taking his medication. And Muhammad Teshale, according to “law enforcement officials,” “did it to be famous.”
“Driver shot by police after hitting 2 soldiers in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu has died,” CBC News, October 20, 2014:
A driver who was shot by police after striking two Canadian Forces members in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., earlier today has died.
Quebec provincial police said the 25-year-old man was a resident of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and was known to police, but would not elaborate how.
“We are at the beginning of an investigation. Several hypotheses are being looked at,” said Sgt. Michel Brunet, adding that investigators would study various angles, including mental illness and terrorism.
Police confirmed the suspect’s death Monday evening, several hours after he was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The incident began at around 11:30 a.m. ET when the two soldiers were hit in a parking lot of a commercial plaza. Both were injured, one critically.
The incident was raised in the House of Commons this afternoon by Conservative MP Randy Hoback, who questioned Prime Minister Stephen Harper about “unconfirmed reports of a possible terror attack” targeting members of the Canadian Forces.
Harper, reading from a piece of paper, would only say he was “aware of these reports” and that they are troubling.
The government did not specify the source of the reports mentioned by Hoback.
Suspect possibly ‘radicalized’The RCMP issued a statement late Monday evening, confirming the suspect was also known to federal authorities.
“This individual was known to federal authorities including our Integrated National Security Investigations team in Montreal who along with other authorities were concerned that he had become radicalized. Out of respect and deference to the ongoing criminal investigation arising from today’s terrible events, the RCMP will not comment further except to say that we are working with our law enforcement partners to ensure all avenues of investigation are pursued,” the statement said.
Police have not named the soldiers but confirmed at an afternoon news conference that they were members of the Forces….