Canada: Police shoot Muslim wearing apparent suicide vest and holding triggering device
November 18, 2015 5:15 am By Robert Spencer 14 Comments
His family, however, says that he was mentally ill and that they are “shocked” by the whole thing, and that police unfairly targeted the poor man. You might almost think they were reading out of some playbook.
“Peel cops shoot suspected suicide bomber,” by Chris Doucette, Toronto Sun, November 17, 2015:
Hours after the horrific terror attacks in Paris, a stand-off unfolded between police officers and a suspected suicide bomber in a Mississauga neighbourhood, the Toronto Sun has learned.
French officials were still counting their dead when Peel Regional Police officers ended a frightening confrontation by opening fire on the 26-year-old man at Golden Orchard Dr. and Grand Forks Rd. — near Bloor St. and Dixie Rd. — shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday.
In the aftermath of the shooting, police downplayed the incident saying only that the call involved “an emotionally disturbed person.”
But the presence of the service’s Explosive Disposal Unit and heavily armed Tactical officers at the scene suggested a far more serious threat was afoot.
A source, who asked not to be named, revealed to Sun on Monday that the bomb squad responded because the man in question was wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest and holding what looked like a triggering device.
It was not immediately known if the vest actually contained explosives.
But suicide bombers and gunmen killed 129 victims in Paris less than eight hours earlier. So police, who were on heightened alert, took the threat seriously.
Uniformed officers shot the suspected suicide bomber four times, the source said.
Fortunately, the shooting was not followed by an explosion.
The man, whose nationality was not immediately clear, was rushed to the trauma centre at St. Mike’s hospital in Toronto. He is expected to survive.
Another source said investigators have since determined the vest was not real….
“Family of mentally-ill Mississauga man question police shooting,” CBC News, November 17, 2015:
The family of a man shot by police Saturday is upset that some media are referring to him as a suspected suicide bomber.
Peel Police say the incident unfolded after they responded to call about a suicidal man in the Grand Forks Road and Golden Orchard Drive in Mississauga early Saturday morning.
They say “there was an interaction with a male, he was shot by police,” and then taken to a trauma centre.
According to the Toronto Sun, the bomb squad also responded to the call “because the man in question was wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest and holding what looked like a triggering device.”
Police are not confirming that, but one neighbour told CBC News police called her and directed her to move her family to a safe place in the house.
The family of Hamza Abdi is upset about how police handled the situation.
They believe the 26-year-old, who suffers from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety, left the house because he was anxiously looking for cigarettes.
Abdi’s family said he was wearing a winter jacket when he left the house and the only thing they know he had with him was an electric shaver.
Why did he take an electric shaver with him to buy cigarettes?
They claim Peel police knew about Abdi’s mental health issues because of previous calls. And they believe tensions following the Paris attacks may have played a role in how police responded.
Hamzi’s older brother, Mohamoud Abdi, told CBC News he was “puzzled and shocked and couldn’t believe” media reports calling his brother a suspected suicide bomber.
Shocked!
“My brother is Canadian as you can get, he came here at a young age,” Mohamoud said, adding that Hamzi was never violent toward anyone.
Hamzi has since been released from hospital.
He faces several charges, including uttering threats, failing to comply and a charge of possessing an imitation weapon