Around 3:30 yesterday afternoon a man walked into a federal government building in Toronto’s north end that houses, among other things, a Canadian Forces recruitment office. The man walked up to a counter and stabbed the uniformed soldier that was behind it.
The 27-year-old, who was described as Middle Eastern in appearance, then walked behind the counter where other uniformed personnel were. The other soldiers managed to subdue the man and hold him for police. During the course of the apprehension, another male soldier was stabbed.
Both Canadian Forces members suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The yet-to-be identified man was taken to a hospital to be checked out and is expected to appear in court today.
Obviously investigations into attacks such as this are somewhat complex and police are limited to what they can say. A completely unprovoked attack upon two members wearing the uniform of the Canadian Forces by a man who appears to be of Middle Eastern descent of course smacks of terrorism. But no government authority acting responsibility can characterize it as a terrorist attack without further investigation.
Although Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders has not said the attack upon the unarmed soldiers was terrorism, he showed the remarkable ability of saying something without actually saying it.
To begin with, before he addressed the media a few short hours after the stabbings, the chief had called in the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). While the RCMP have jurisdiction to deal with ordinary criminal acts in many parts of Canada, they have no jurisdiction to do so in Toronto. And CSIS never deals with ordinary criminal investigations regardless of how serious they are.
Saunders was saying without saying he believes the attack was terrorism
By immediately announcing these other agencies were taking part in the investigation, Saunders was saying without saying he believes the attack was terrorism.
Although he did not give out these details, the chief said the man said something while or after he was subdued by the soldiers and what he said, “causes concern.” To anyone who even pays a little attention to these types of matters, what the man said obviously had something to do with Islam. In the context of what happened, nothing else makes sense. So Saunders again told us what the guy said and what the motivation was without saying it.
Sources who were there told the media the man said “Allah” or “Praise Allah.”
Interviewed on CP24 last night, the chief said he is not calling it terrorism because “you cannot un-ring a bell.” Wise words. The Liberal government will do everything it can to distance what happened from terrorism lest they offend “Muslims.”
We all know Islam is a religion that has absolutely nothing to do with itself. ISIS has nothing to do with Islam. Islam has nothing to do with Islam. There will be pressure from the feds to come up with another motive for the attack, most likely the poor man was mentally ill. This will inevitably happen but Saunders got ahead of it by letting the public know exactly what he thinks was the reason for the attack without having to say it.
Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, issued a statement last night only saying the RCMP said this was an isolated incident and the public have nothing to worry about. Typical political weasel words.
At the time of this writing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has yet to comment. This is the guy who told the CBC that the Boston Marathon bombing happened because the bombers “felt excluded.” He said this a few short hours after the bombings occurred when no one knew exactly what happened. When Justin finally does issue a statement he will offer some equally ridiculous statement about the “root causes” of what happened. His primary concern will not be the military and the wounded soldiers although he will mouth some platitudes. His main worry will be about the impact this could have on Muslims living in Canada.
Many people are and will be upset that Saunders did not give more details and conclusively announce the double stabbing was a terrorist act. Nevertheless, he left little doubt about what he thinks happened.
Saunders’ two predecessors, Julian Fantino and Bill Blair, went into politics after they left leading the Toronto Police Service. Unlike them, Saunders would make a good politician.
Man faces five charges following incident at Joseph Shephard Building, 4900 Yonge Street
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 - 10:51 AM
32 Division
416-808-3200
On Monday, March 14, 2016, at 2:45 p.m., police were called to 4900 Yonge Street for a man with a large knife who was threatening people.
It is alleged that:
- a man entered the Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre and stabbed a soldier
- the man was restrained by several soldiers
- during the struggle, a second soldier received a stab wound
Ayanie Hassan Ali, 27, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
1) two counts of Assault with a weapon
2) Attempt Murder
3) Weapons Dangerous
4) Aggravated Assault
He is scheduled to appear in court at 1000 Finch Avenue West on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, 2 p.m., room 306.
