TUESDAY UPDATE:
Abdulahi Hassan Sharif appeared in court on Tuesday via CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre and is scheduled to appear in court again on November 14.
EDMONTON: THE RCMP announced on Monday that Abdulahi Hassan Sharif of Edmonton has been charged in Saturday’s incident in Edmonton in which an Edmonton Police Service (EPS) constable was stabbed and four other people were struck by a truck.
Sharif has been charged with five counts of attempt murder, dangerous driving, criminal flight causing bodily harm, and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
At approximately 8:11 p.m. on September 30, EPS Constable Micheal Chernyk was purposely struck by a white Chevrolet Malibu near Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton while he was conducting traffic control at a public event. The suspect, and lone occupant of the Malibu, exited the vehicle and stabbed Chernyk several times before fleeing the scene.
Nearly three hours and twenty minutes later, at approximately 11:33 p.m., a U-Haul truck was stopped at an EPS check-stop in Edmonton. EPS members recognized the name of the driver as being the same as the registered owner of the Chevrolet Malibu which was involved in the prior incident. When members went to their vehicle to call for assistance the U-Haul truck fled the check-stop.
The truck made its way to the downtown core of the city followed by police. A total of four pedestrians were struck and injured by the truck at two separate locations before being disabled by the EPS Tactical Unit. Sharif was the lone occupant of the U-Haul truck and was taken into custody at the scene by EPS.
The RCMP’s “K” Division Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (K-INSET) is leading the investigation with the assistance of the Edmonton Police Service.