Canada probes deadly car attack
Minister says man who struck two soldiers with his car, one of whom died, was linked to ‘terrorist ideology’.
Canadian officials say a man who was shot and killed by police after he struck two members of the Canadian military with his car was “clearly linked to terrorist ideology”.
One of two soldiers hit by the car in a city near Montreal died and authorities are examining whether the driver’s links to radical Islam had spurred the attack. Neighbours said he was a recent convert.
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney on Tuesday called the attack a “terrible act of violence against our country, against our military and against our values”.
The suspect, Martin Couture Rouleau, 25, was shot on Monday by police following a car chase and later died.
Quebec provincial police official Michel Brunet said that the suspect fled the scene of the attack and was pursued by police for about 4km before he lost control of the car, which rolled over several times. Police shot him after he exited the car.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman David Falls said the suspect “was known to Federal authorities” and “authorities were concerned that he had become radicalised”.
Blaney and police declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.