An image of Aaron Driver, a Canadian man killed by police on Wednesday who had indicated he planned to carry out an imminent rush-hour attack on a major Canadian city, is projected on a screen during a news conference with Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana (L) and Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Strachan in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, August 11, 2016.
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Police raided the home of Aaron Driver in the small town of Strathroy, some 225 kilometres south-west of Toronto, after receiving credible information, including a “martyrdom video”, from United States authorities that he planned an attack, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said.
Authorities identified the suspect as Driver, 24, who had already been under a court order restricting his movements and was being monitored by police after he was arrested for backing ISIS online past year.
– The suspect detonates a small explosive device in the back seat, lightly injuring the taxi driver, and is shot dead by police.
A Canadian man was about to commit a terrorist attack but was killed after he detonated his explosive device in a taxi and was shot at by officers who say they were tipped off by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, police said Thursday.
In the video released by the RCMP, Driver said he would retaliate for Canada’s participation in the US-led coalition war against the Islamic State group.
Regarding the previous case, he said police had meant to charge Driver with terrorism threats based on his social media postings, but Driver and police reached a peace bond settlement allowing the RCMP to monitor Driver for up to a year.
“The sure fact was, if he had gotten out of that residence before we got there, the scenario would have ended a lot differently”, said Strachan.
He was arrested and placed on a terrorism peace bond last summer over fears he would participate in terror-related activities.
The suspect, identified as Driver, talked about the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels and pledged allegiance to IS.
“We can confirm a police operation took place in Strathroy yesterday, where a suspect was fatally shot by our officers”, RCMP spokeswoman Annie Delisle said in an email.
Driver was known to police as an IS supporter, and was arrested in June past year, but released on a peace bond.
Police said there was no indication that Driver, a 24-year-old Muslim convert, had any accomplices in his plans.
He had been under a court order not to associate with any terror group and faced 18 other court ordered conditions.
A second source said the Canadians then realized it was Driver and deployed to the home in Strathroy, Ontario where he had been living.
There was no immediate confirmation from Canadian police that anyone had been shot, with a statement saying only that a suspect had been identified and that they had taken “action” after receiving information about a potential attack. He had also spoken out to encourage attacks against the Canadian police and military.
Driver had expressed support for the Parliament gunman, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, on Twitter, which was how he first came to the attention of Canadian security officials.
On Thursday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale praised law enforcement involved for their “exceptional work”.
He urged Canadians to “remain alert to the dangers of terrorism” and report suspicious activity to local police or the national security call centre at 1-800-420-5805.
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When Driver was released later that month, he was ordered to wear a Global Positioning System tracking device and banned from going on the internet or having any communication with the Islamic State group, including wearing or carrying anything with an IS logo.
