[sureLoss]

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/crim...cking-vehicles

The stabbing of a police officer and a subsequent high-speed chase where several pedestrians were run down is being investigated as an act of terrorism, Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht said at a 3 a.m. news conference.

Knecht, standing side by side with representatives of the RCMP, said based on evidence at the scene, and the actions of the suspect “it was determined that these incidents are being investigated as acts of terrorism under section 83.2 of the criminal code.”

Knecht also confirmed that an ISIS flag was discovered in the vehicle the suspect was driving when he rammed, then stabbed the police officer. And that the flag is part of the investigation.

The attack began on the officer who was manning a routine Eskimos game-day blockade by himself southwest of Commonwealth Stadium at 107A avenue and 92 Street. The officer was outside his vehicle, which had its lights flashing to improve visibility.

At around 8:15 p.m., a man driving a white Chevrolet Malibu crashed into the barricades set up to keep pedestrians separated from vehicles.

The vehicle struck the officer “sending him flying through the air 15 feet before colliding with the officer’s cruiser” at high speed.

The suspect, believed to be 30 years old, then got out of his vehicle and attacked the officer with a knife. The officer was stabbed multiple times before the suspect fled on foot northbound on 92 Street.

A manhunt was underway when before midnight the suspect was pulled over at a police check stop on Wayne Gretzky Drive and 112 Avenue driving a U-Haul truck. When the officer asked to see a driver’s licence, he recognized the name as being similar to that of the registered owner of the Malibu used in the earlier attack. The suspect fled the scene with at least a dozen police vehicles in pursuit.

Pedestrians targeted in downtown chase

A high speed chase ensued with the suspect racing west down Jasper Avenue into the downtown, where Knecht said the suspect “deliberately tried to hit pedestrians in crosswalks and alleys” at two areas along the route. Four pedestrians were struck and were subsequently transported to hospital. There is no information on their condition.

Shortly after the pedestrians were run down, the suspect’s vehicle overturned on 100 Avenue just south of Jasper “due to police interaction,” said Knecht.

The driver was arrested and is now in police custody.

Witnesses who saw the chase and pedestrians being struck described the scene as chaotic.

‘There were people flying’

Just before midnight Kim Anderson was waiting for her bus when she saw the U-Haul hit pedestrians near Jasper Avenue and 107 Street.

“There were people flying and everything,” she said. “I’m shocked — I just see people flying.”