Aaron Driver died after detonating an explosive device in the backseat of a taxi as police closed in on him outside his property Police descended on Driver’s home after USA authorities alerted them that he planned to launch what could have been a “dreadful” attack, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said during a press conference.
Advertisement
“Earlier today, the RCMP received credible information regarding a potential terrorist threat and took action to ensure public safety”, Goodale said.
In the video, aired during the news conference, a masked Driver addresses the camera directly, speaking Arabic before an English tirade against western “enemies of Islam”, including Canada and allies in Europe and the United States. The FBI claimed he was in “the final stages” of a major terror attack in a major urban center with a homemade bomb when the police killed him.
After the initial blasts, police fired into the cab, but it is still unclear if Driver was killed by a police bullet or shrapnel.
Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Strachan went over the timeline of the police encounter.
Neighbours reported hearing a loud explosion and gunshots during the police operation, which included swat teams, a bomb squad, the RCMP and Canada’s military special operations forces.
The taxi driver escaped with minor injuries.
Around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, a body bag was seen being loaded into a vehicle at the scene.
May 2015: RCMP says Driver was communicating in a chat room with two people connected to ISIS, using encrypted applications.
Officials said they weren’t aware that a cab was coming to pick up Driver, nor did they know where the cab was taking him.
Driver was well known to Canadian intelligence and police as an IS sympathizer.
An SFU terrorism expert says the RCMP and CSIS are limited in their powers when dealing with potential terrorists.
A tip from the Federal Bureau of Investigation triggered what Canadian police on Thursday called a “race against time” as police worked to identify and find a balaclava-wearing, would-be suicide bomber they feared was on the verge of committing a terror attack in Canada.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), which serves the city, and the regional operator GO Transit confirmed they were contacted by police early on Wednesday. Police filled the parking lot at Wilfrid Jury Public School, though they were gone by Thursday morning. “And when it does happen, they shouldn’t act surprised, they had it coming to them, they deserved it”, Driver calmly told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp a year ago. He was kept in police custody on suspicion that he may have ties to a terrorist group, though no charges were ever laid against him.
July 2015 – Driver moves from Manitoba to his sister’s house in Strathroy, Ontario, about 225 km (140 miles) southwest of Toronto.
Driver was eventually released on a peace bond with a number of conditions, including wearing a Global Positioning System tracking device.
In February, Driver’s peace bond changed and his electronic bracelet was removed.
Advertisement
In 2014, Canada was stunned by two deadly attacks that police said were the work of homegrown radicals and that led to tougher new anti-terrorism measures.
