Mounties say they believe an attack on Edmonton City Hall in January was politically motivated, meaning it reaches the legal threshold for terrorism charges.
Supt. Glenn Sells of the RCMP’s national security team said officers seized an SKS assault-style rifle, three prohibited rifle magazines, about 150 rounds of ammunition and four gasoline-filled Molotov cocktails from the scene.
This highlights the risk to the public and the amount of damage that could have been done that day, Sells said.
Police have said a heavily armed man entered city hall through an underground parkade, fired a gun and lit several small incendiary devices, which caused a small fire outside an elevator.
No one was hurt, but the bullets shattered glass and punctured ceilings and walls.
The building was full of people at the time, including a class of Grade 1 students. Police and RCMP tactical teams spent several hours securing and clearing the building, escorting out citizens who had been sheltering in various locations.
“On Jan. 23, 2024, the normal business of Edmonton’s municipal government was shattered by a violent attack on the Edmonton City Hall, which has had a profound impact on our fellow Edmontonians who were in the building that day,” said Sells.
“Fortunately, the immediate and courageous actions of city hall security and responding emergency service personnel led to a quick resolution of the incident without any serious injuries or further damage to property.”
As details of the attack began to emerge, Sells said, it appeared to fall within the national security mandate of the RCMP.
On Monday, RCMP announced Bezhani Sarvar, 28, had been charged with counselling commission of a terrorism offence and possession of property for terrorist purposes.
The Integrated National Security Enforcement Team said those charges are in conjunction with nine others that constitute terrorism offences, including intentionally possessing incendiary material while committing an indictable offence.
Sarvar is also charged with two counts of possessing a prohibited device, mischief, carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence.
After his arrest, police said they were reviewing a video posted by a man wearing a commissionaire’s jacket. In the video, the man delivers a rambling manifesto, decrying everything from so-called “wokeism” to the fighting in Gaza to unhealthy diets.
Police have said the suspect surrendered to a city hall security commissionaire, who detained him until police arrived.
The building was full of people during the shooting, including a class of Grade 1 students. City police and RCMP tactical teams spent several hours securing and clearing the building, escorting out citizens who had been sheltering in various locations.
Sells said that once Mounties were brought onto the case, they did a thorough analysis of the evidence collected, executed more search warrants, interviewed witnesses and analyzed electronic evidence.
Sarvar had worked as a security guard prior to his arrest.
The day after the shooting, the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires confirmed he had been an employee since 2019 and was “assigned to a variety of locations within the Edmonton area but was never assigned to the security detail at city hall.”
Security video of a man inside city hall who fired shots showed he was wearing a Commissionaires security jacket, a vest and a security shirt.
In a video posted to social media, which appeared to have been posted the morning of the shooting and which has since been deleted from YouTube, Sarvar was seen sitting in a vehicle and talking about completing a mission. In the video, he listed a wide range of concerns about the cost of living, the housing crisis, immigration and other issues.
In the video, the accused also speaks about “genocide in Gaza” and speaks out against “anyone that is destabilizing other countries.”
Global News has confirmed Sarvar lived in Edmonton with his wife and their children.
Edmonton City Hall remains closed to the public as city officials make decisions on how to implement security changes at the building, though staff have been allowed to return to work and the media is allowed inside.
–with files from Karen Bartko and Phil Heidenreich, Global News
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