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'Radical' shot in Canada

October 21, 2014

A man known to federal investigators in Canada as a possible 'radical' has been shot dead by police after hitting two soldiers with a car. Police in Quebec have said one soldier died of his injuries.

https://p.dw.com/p/1DZ1K
Verdacht auf Terroranschlag in n Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Kanada
Image: Reuters/Christinne Muschi

Police in Canada said Tuesday that one of the officers struck in a hit-and-run the previous day has died as a result of his injuries.

On Monday, a man in the town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec struck two soldiers with a car in a supermarket parking lot before fleeing the scene. The second soldier received less-serious injuries.

In a high-speed chase by police in the town near Montreal, the man crashed and flipped his car. When he emerged from the vehicle, he was shot and killed by police. A knife was found on the ground next to the body, but police have not yet confirmed if the man was holding it when he was shot.

A statement released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police late after Monday's incident said the man was "known to Federal authorities," who were "concerned that he had become radicalized."

Canadian media have identified the man as 25-year-old Martin Couture Rouleau.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Monday in Parliament that the event was "extremely troubling."

"First and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," he said. "We're closely monitoring the situation and obviously we will make available all of the resources of the federal government."

Police in Quebec have said they are considering a terrorist motive but did not get more specific.

Canada has joined the US-led military effort to battle militants of the group "Islamic State" in Iraq.

mz/nm (AP, AFP, Reuters)