Stabbing and car crash in Canada, possibly linked to terrorism

Canadian police on September 30 arrested a suspect who used a knife to attack police and drove a car into pedestrians in the western province of this country.

The suspect's truck overturned while fleeing police. Photo: NBC News.

The stabbing and car crash occurred in Edmonton, Alberta. The suspect was arrested for investigation of "terrorist acts", NBC News quoted Canadian police as saying early on October 1.

The 30-year-old suspect was arrested after a chase through several streets crowded with nightspots and football fans. Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht said the suspect appeared to have acted alone, but they have not ruled out the possibility of other people being involved in the attack.

A flag, apparently of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), was found on the passenger seat of the suspect's truck.

The chaos began outside Commonwealth Stadium, where the Edmonton Eskimos football team was playing, at around 8pm local time on September 30 (9am, October 1, Hanoi time). A car then drove through a traffic control barrier set up by the police and hit an officer.

The driver then got out of the car, pulled out a knife and stabbed the officer multiple times before fleeing. The officer was taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries are not life-threatening.

Around midnight, a U-Haul truck was stopped in the northern part of the city, but the driver, who was also the suspect in the first incident, refused to comply and immediately sped away, leading police on a chase.

On the way to escape, the car injured four pedestrians before having an accident and overturning.

Police cordoned off the scene.

Police Chief Knecht said the IS flag would be a factor in the investigation, adding that authorities had not received any warning before the incident.

According to VNE