Edmonton City Hall Shooting Suspect’s Manifesto a ‘Dog’s Breakfast,’ Terrorism Charges Uncertain: Analyst

Police surround Edmonton City Hall during an investigation on Jan. 23, 2024. The Canadian Press/Jason Franson

The man accused of shooting up Edmonton City Hall has not been charged with terrorism offences despite a political institution being attacked and a likely manifesto being left behind—and it could remain that way, according to an intelligence veteran.

Phil Gurski, who spent 30 years with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Communications Security Establishment, said the manifesto is “a dog’s breakfast of issues” and it doesn’t contain some of the usual markers tied to Islamist extremism.

The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said Bezhani Sarvar entered City Hall on Jan. 23, lit several devices believed to be Molotov cocktails, and fired several rounds from a long gun into the ceiling, walls, and windows. No one was injured in the incident.

The 28-year-old man has been charged with “reckless discharge of firearm into place, use/place/throw explosive substance, arson to property, possess incendiary material, use of firearm while committing offence and careless use of firearm.”

The RCMP says its Integrated National Security Enforcement Team is working with the EPS on the case but it cannot comment further on an active investigation. No terrorism charges have been laid.

“If he was a jihadi, he would have talked about the West hates Islam, and the West is bombing Gaza, and the West is doing this, and the West is doing that. He doesn’t do that,” Mr. Gurski said, commenting on the manifesto.

The “laundry list” of things mentioned in the manifesto doesn’t fit in a well-defined category, said the former intelligence analyst who now runs Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting. “That’s why I’m wondering whether they would bother trying to pin terrorism if they can use other things.”

Mr. Gurski noted the 2017 case of Abdulahi Hasan Sharif in Edmonton, who was in possession of an Islamic State flag and tried to kill a police officer but wasn’t charged with terrorism offences.

Canada’s Criminal Code defines terrorism as an act committed in whole or in part for a political, religious, or ideological purpose with the intention of intimidating the public or compelling the government to do or refrain from doing something. It also needs to intentionally cause death or serious risk to health and safety, or cause “substantial” property damage.

Manifesto

The undated video manifesto circulating on social media shows a man wearing a Corps of Commissionaires security guard jacket inside an idling vehicle. The EPS didn’t answer a request to comment on the video.

The police said in a media release it’s aware a video is circulating which “may be related” to the incident and that investigators are reviewing it.

The Commissionaires have confirmed that Mr. Sarvar, the man charged in connection with the shooting, had been working with them since 2019.

In the video, he begins with the Muslim greeting “Salaam Alaikum” and proceeds to a call to “rise up” against the “wokeism disease” and against people involved in the “genocide that’s going on in Gaza.”

“Before I do my mission, I want you all to know that I am not a psychopath,” he said in his opening remarks.

The man in the video had a long list of disparate grievances. He criticized “wokeism” as “leading our generation into deception,” and mentioned inflation and the housing crisis. He also said the “unrest” caused by multiculturalism, religion, and race needs to end.

On the situation in Gaza, the man said “inshallah [God willing] we will rise against” those who have a hand in the “genocide that’s going on in Gaza and throughout the world.” “We’ll put you on trial,” he said.

He also mentioned the topic of immigration and said immigrants “must understand that we are part of this agenda. We’re not here for no reason. This is a man-made war. This is a man-made immigration crisis that we’re all here.” He goes on to say that “instead of hate and anger in our hearts, we must spread love.”

The contradictory calls to “rise up” and “spread love” are also interspersed with life advice about the need to filter water and “watch what we’re eating.”

He ended by saying if he doesn’t succeed in his mission, someone else would.

‘Cafeteria Terrorism’

Mr. Gurski described the hodgepodge of grievances as “cafeteria terrorism” where you “take a little bit of this and a little bit of that” to “create a cause out of multiple things that are wrong with the world.”

The intelligence specialist also raised questions about the target, asking what influence city hall could have over the situation in Gaza: “About none,” he said. “It’s a real weird one.”

The Epoch Times has not reviewed the original video of the manifesto but Global News said a version of it was previously removed from YouTube. The version available online appears to have been edited and some parts could be missing.

A portion of the video where the man speaks in Dari with an Afghani accent says “Don’t bully others, don’t do harmful things, always do good, don’t be like the infidels [harams] spilling blood, never do any harm to the youth and kids, always wage war [fight] for good, always be upstanding, always try to have a good life.”

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi thanked the first responders in a Jan. 24 statement and, alluding to unspecified information circulating online about the suspect, he pleaded the EPS be given time to “assess and evaluate all information as part of their total investigative efforts.”

He also cautioned against ascribing the actions of one individual to a larger group. “Racism and Islamophobia are already significant issues, and we cannot let the actions of one individual impact how we treat or perceive an entire community,” he said.

Mr. Sarvar appeared before the court via teleconference on Jan. 25 but his bail hearing has been pushed back to next week.

Security footage released publicly shows the suspect walking inside city hall with what appears to be a modified SKS rifle and shooting at a glass door and at a target outside the frame. He is wearing a Corps of Commissionaire security guard uniform.

After firing some rounds, the suspect knelt down, dropped his weapon, removed his jacket, and walked out of the frame. The man was initially detained by another commissionaire on duty, who was unarmed.