On October 20, a 25-year-old Muslim convert ran down two soldiers in a parking lot in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Montreal, before being shot dead by police. “His comment against the police are worrisome and therefore have a discrepancy with my beliefs”, the landlord says in court documents.
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He said Canada’s National Terrorism Threat Level remained unchanged at “medium”. The owner said Driver was a regular customer, often taking him to his job at Meridian Lightweight Technologies Inc., a company that manufactures automotive parts.
“All involved agencies took immediate action as soon as the information was received”, said Cabana.
The man was killed on Wednesday during a police raid in a small Ontario town, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said, but did not give further details. Driver also cited recent attacks in Paris and Brussels.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said he had spoken to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the events “to confirm that public safety has been and continues to be properly protected”.
At a press conference in Ottawa Thursday afternoon, Mike Cabana, the RCMP’s deputy commissioner for federal policing, said the FBI came into possession of the video and tipped off the Mounties at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
They said a suspect was identified and the “proper course of action has been taken” to ensure there was no danger to public safety.
The RCMP said terror suspect Aaron Driver entered a taxi and detonated a device injuring himself and the driver before he was killed during a confrontation with police in Strathroy, Ont.
It is unclear if Driver died as a result of the explosion or police gunfire.
The FBI tip and cooperation among Canadian agencies was key to heading off the attack, Cabana said.
The video shows a man in a black balaclava promising to carry out an imminent attack on a Canadian city. “Oh Canada, you received many warnings, you were told many times what would become of those who fight against the Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL)”, said the man in the video. A representative from a local taxi company said a cab had been dispatched to Driver’s address at the time of the police raid and the taxi driver sustained minor injuries.
Aaron Driver, the alleged Islamic State supporter accused of planning an attack in Canada, made a video before he died pledging allegiance to the militant Islamist organization’s leader – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Leonard Tailleur says Driver poses no threat to the public and “should be able to go here, there, everywhere”.
Driver had also expressed support for the terrorists who attacked the Canadian parliament building in 2014. But Driver, who was living with his sister, was not under surveillance at the time.
“We had the house contained, but we weren’t still aware at that point there was anyone in the residence”, said Jennifer Strachan, the RCMP assistant commissioner.
He said that as a precaution a “vigilance notice” was issued to all staff, encouraging them to speak up if they saw something of concern.
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The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), which serves the city, and the regional operator GO Transit confirmed they were contacted by police early on Wednesday.
