Canadian man shot after striking soldiers
Prime minister’s office says 25-year-old killed by Quebec police after car chase outside Montreal was “radicalised”.
A man who was shot and killed by police in Quebec after he struck two members of the Canadian military with his car had become radicalised, according to senior officials.
Quebec police shot the man after two members of the military were struck by the motorist in a parking-lot mall near Montreal on Monday.
The 25-year-old man from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu died a few hours after being shot.
Lieutenant Michel Brunet of the Quebec provincial police said earlier that police ended up shooting the man after a car chase in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, southeast of Montreal.
After the man hit the two soldiers with his vehicle in the parking-lot mall, he fled in his vehicle, prompting a police chase that ended with the man losing control and his car rolling over several times.
Brunet said the man exited the car and was shot.
He said they found a knife on the ground but he could not say if he had the knife in his hand when police fired their weapons.
Police said one of the soldiers was seriously injured, while the other’s injuries are less serious.
Brunet said he did not know if the soldiers were wearing uniforms at the time they were struck.
Harper briefed
Jason MacDonald, a spokesman for the Canadian prime minister, said Stephen Harper was briefed on Monday about the incident by the head of Canada’s national police force, the head of the military and his national security adviser.
The “federal authorities have confirmed that there are clear indications that the individual had become radicalised”, MacDonald said.
He said the suspect was known to domestic anti-terrorist police.
Both police and Harper’s office declined to provide further details, citing the investigation.
Harper said earlier on Monday in parliament that he was aware of the reports and called them “extremely troubling”.
“First and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families; we’re closely monitoring the situation and obviously we will make available all of the resources of the federal government,” Harper said.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has urged supporters to carry out attacks against Western countries, including Canada, that are participating in the US-led coalition battling the fighters who have taken over large expanses of territory in Iraq and Syria.
It was not known whether the suspect in the Quebec attack had any ties to armed groups.