An RCMP spokesman has confirmed to AM980 that the terrorist threat statement issued on Wednesday and the ongoing investigation in Strathroy are linked.
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Canada’s national police force says it has halted a possible terrorist threat, but it is providing few other details.
They said they had to shoot Driver because he had a second device which he was planning to detonate, according to the CBC. “A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public’s safety”, the statement said.
Broadcaster CTV, citing internal government documents, however, said the suspect was linked to the Islamic State group and planned to set off an explosive device in a packed public space in a major city. Driver, 24, was a Muslim convert who was described as a “passive individual” by his former lawyer.
“It was like he turned out the lights and put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door”, his father told CBC in interviews previous year with his son.
Canada was the target of two separate lone wolf attacks in October 2014 in Quebec and Ottawa that resulted in the death of two soldiers. “He didn’t bring friends over, never talked about where he was going and what he was doing”, the father said.
“And when it does happen they shouldn’t – they shouldn’t act surprised”.
Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University who studies radicalization and terrorism, maintained in 2015 that Driver posted for several months on social media about disliking Canada and about a desire to move overseas.
Driver was allowed to remove his monitoring bracelet but continued to be prohibited from using a computer or cellphone – rules that were to be in place until the end of August. Those restrictions were gradually loosened and were scheduled to expire this month.
The man was killed on Wednesday during a police raid in the small Ontario town of Strathroy, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said, but did not give further details.
In February, Driver’s lawyer and the Crown agreed to a peace bond stating there are “reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group”.
“These agencies conducted themselves effectively in the circumstances that developed today”.
More information will be released on the “national security threat” as it becomes available, the release said, and no further comment is available at this time.
Police keep watch around a house in Strathroy, Ontario, Wednesday, August 10, 2016.
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. One of the soldiers later died.
One source said the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not know the identity of the man and sent a wide notice across Canada about the potential threat.
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”.
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Canada saw a big jump in terrorism offences a year ago with 173 alleged incidents, up from 76 in 2014, according to July data from Statistics Canada, which cites police information.
