2020 Toronto hammer attack
| 2020 Toronto hammer attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of Terrorism in Canada | |
| Location | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Date | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Weapons | Hammer |
| Deaths | 1 |
Non-fatal injuries | 0 |
| Perpetrator | Saad A. |
| Motive | Islamic extremism |
On 21 February 2020, a woman was randomly attacked and killed by a terrorist with a hammer in a street in Toronto, Canada.
Attack
On 21 February 2020, at 7.15 p.m, a 65-year-old woman was walking in Sheppard Ave. E. and Markham Rd, Toronto when she was randomly attacked by a man. The attacker hit her with a hammer, killing the woman at the scene. The victim was chosen at random.[1]
After the attack, the assailant placed a suspicious package at the front desk of Toronto Police Service’s 42 Division station and threatened police officers, quoting that he was in possession of an explosive device, prompting an evacuation of the police station. It is not known if the package was inert all along, or whether a real explosive or dangerous substance inside it was deactivated in some way by the CBRNE team.[2]
Investigation
The perpetrator, identified as 30-year-old local man named Saad A., was arrested at the police station he threatened. Investigators found that Saad committed the murder for terrorist motives, targeting a random civilian. He left a note under the victim's body, in which he expressed support for terrorism.[3]
The low sophistication of the attack is the expression of a new challenge against terrorism, according to experts, as it represents a recently growing form by lone attackers who use low-cost weapons and represents a new type of threat. The attack is considered a copy-cat attack, inspired by the 2019 London Bridge stabbing and the 2020 Streatham stabbing, in which both attackers used low-cost weapons and had a fake suicide bomb vest. Investigators are investigating if Saad had contact with other extremists as he was inspired by Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[4]
References
- ↑ Scarborough murder was alleged 'terrorist act:' Source
- ↑ Toronto man faces terrorism charge after woman dies in alleged on-street hammer attack
- ↑ Toronto man faces terrorism charge after allegedly killing woman with a hammer
- ↑ Hammer attack that killed woman on Toronto street reflects new face of global terrorism
This article "2020 Toronto hammer attack" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:2020 Toronto hammer attack. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
