OTTAWA — Terrorism suspect Aaron Driver was killed in a confrontation with police in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy, The Canadian Press has learned.
Driver, originally from Winnipeg and in his mid-20s, was under a court order not to associate with any terrorist organization, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The RCMP said it received credible information of a potential terrorist threat earlier in the day.
A suspect was identified and the "proper course of action has been taken" to ensure that there was no danger to the public, the carefully worded statement said.
In February, Driver's lawyer and the Crown agreed to a peace bond stating there are "reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group."
Police and government officials were tight-lipped about the violent events that unfolded in the small town near London, Ont.
However, a source with knowledge of the police takedown spoke to The Canadian Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
Without providing details, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Wednesday night he had spoken to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "to confirm that public safety has been and continues to be properly protected."
The RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other police and security agencies were involved in the operation, he added.
"These agencies conducted themselves effectively in the circumstances that developed today."
Taking all relevant information into account, the national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at "medium" where it has stood since the fall of 2014, Goodale added.
The RCMP said because the matter was still unfolding and the investigation remained underway, there would be no further comment.
The Mounties planned to hold a news conference Thursday to provide details.
Winnipeg-based lawyer Leonard Tailleur, who had handled Driver's peace bond, said he was "shocked" to hear what had happened.
"Saddened to hear that it had to end this way for him," Tailleur said in an email to The Canadian Press.
Tailleur had not been in contact with Driver since February when "the matter had been resolved to the satisfaction of the Department of Justice, the RCMP and myself."
In Strathroy, resident Irene Lee said late Wednesday that since about 4:15 p.m., police had been camped outside the home where Driver lived.
At about that time, she said she was at her own home close by when she heard a loud noise. She said shortly afterward, a police officer came by to tell residents to stay inside their homes.
Lee said there were up to 25 marked and unmarked cruisers outside Driver's Park Street residence all Wednesday evening. She said Driver regularly goes to her parents' nearby convenience store to buy energy drinks.
Police were still on the scene early Thursday and said they would remain through the night. A perimeter had been set up and a portion of the street leading to the house in the residential neighbourhood where Driver was killed was closed to traffic.
Some residents were milling about on the streets well after midnight seeking information from police and to express their gratitude.
Ottawa was abuzz with rumours for much of Wednesday after a memo was circulated among National Defence personnel warning of a terrorist threat.
TERRORISM SUSPECT AARON DRIVER WAS SUBJECT OF PEACE BOND; AROUSED SUSPICIONS
WINNIPEG — Last year, federal authorities were so suspicious Aaron Driver might have ties to a terrorist group that he bounced in and out of jails and courtrooms for months, all without any actual charges ever being laid — and he had no criminal record at the time.
The Canadian Press has learned that Driver was the terrorism suspect killed in a confrontation with police Wednesday in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy. The information was from a source with knowledge of the police takedown who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
In June 2015, Driver was first picked up in Winnipeg. Published reports at the time suggested Driver posted messages on social media that praised terrorist activities, including the attack on Parliament Hill in October 2014 by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.
Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University who studies radicalization and terrorism, maintained in 2015 that Driver posted for several months on social media about disliking Canada and about a desire to move overseas.
Mounties applied for a peace bond that could impose limits on Driver's activities, alleging in provincial court documents that investigators believed he might help with terrorist group activities.
When Driver, who was in his mid-20s, was released later that month, he was ordered to comply with 18 different conditions, including wearing a GPS tracking device.
At the time, the bail conditions drew criticism from the Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties.
"This is a person — a Canadian citizen — who has not been charged with a crime ... and yet he's going to be subject to 24-7 GPS monitoring," said association president Corey Shefman.
"This is Canada and a judge has just told this man that he must receive counselling from a religious leader. That, frankly, is outrageous."
The office of former Tory public safety minister Steven Blaney defended the move, saying the government must combat terrorism.
"We will continue to ensure that our police forces have the tools they need to protect Canadians against this evolving threat of terrorism," Blaney's press secretary, Jeremy Laurin, wrote in an email.
Driver's lawyer, Leonard Tailleur, argued in a November 2015 court appearance that his client was not a threat and was only voicing his political opinions.
He said the peace bond conditions being sought by the government were too extreme and unconstitutional, and were impacting Driver's ability to get a job.
Driver was also banned from going on the Internet or having any communication with ISIL, including having any object on his person that bore an ISIL logo.
Later, the Crown announced some of his strict bail conditions had been lifted and he would not be going to trial.
Under the peace bond agreed to by both sides, there was an acknowledgment there were grounds to fear that Driver might help a terrorist group.
However, he was allowed to remove his monitoring bracelet and no longer was required to undergo religious counselling. He continued to be prohibited from using a computer or cellphone — rules that were to be in place until the end of August.
Reached by The Canadian Press late Wednesday, Tailleur said he was "shocked" to hear what had happened.
"Saddened to hear that it had to end this way for him."
Tailleur had not been in contact with Driver since February when "the matter had been resolved to the satisfaction of the Department of Justice, the RCMP and myself."
Throughout his legal tribulations, little was known about Driver himself. His father and step-mother — his own mom died when he was seven — also lived in Winnipeg. Neighbours told the CBC he rarely went outside, though they also didn't think he was unusual or a bad person.
The CBC also reported that his father worked in the military and the family moved around a lot, living in Edmonton and London, Ont., where it's believed Driver converted to Islam as a teenager.
In Strathroy, Ont., all Wednesday evening, a large police presence could be seen outside Driver's residence, a nearby resident told The Canadian Press.
Police and government officials were tight-lipped about the violent events that unfolded there. However, the RCMP said it had received credible information of a potential terrorist threat earlier in the day.
A suspect was identified and the "proper course of action has been taken" to ensure that there was no danger to the public, a carefully worded statement said.
NEIGHBOURS OF DEAD TERROR SUSPECT SAY THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN WARNED
STRATHROY, Ont. — Some neighbours of a terrorism suspect killed in a dramatic police takedown say they should have been warned the man had moved to the southern Ontario town while the Toronto Transit Commission said Thursday it had received only a "very general" alert from authorities about a terror threat.
A day after the standoff that led to Aaron Driver's death, several Strathroy residents said they were stunned to learn a man believed to be a terror sympathizer had been living in their midst.
"I think they should have (told us), just so that we're well aware of this, so that we can keep an eye out ourselves too," said Harry Denharton, who lives nearby and heard two loud bangs Wednesday afternoon but only later learned what had happened.
"We should have the right to know. I'm pretty sure they had close tabs on this guy...but living beside him, I would feel not safe."
As police cordoned off the Strathroy street where Driver died, some residents stopped by to peer down the street while others gathered on their lawns to discuss the previous night's high-stakes operation. The takedown was the talk of the town, they said, and many were still feeling uneasy.
"It's scary; it's scary for the kids," said Brenda Brown.
"I don't want it in my town, it's scary. You never think about it being so close, but it can happen, I guess. I think they should be telling people what's going on, they're scared."
Transit agencies in Toronto were warned of a security threat before the RCMP confronted Driver, who had been under a court order not to associate with any terrorist organization, in the town west of Canada's largest city.
Details on just what happened have yet to be released; the RCMP was scheduled to hold a news conference in Ottawa at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. The RCMP said it had received credible information of a potential terror threat in a major Canadian city, identified a suspect and taken action to ensure there was no danger to the public.
On Thursday morning, a spokesman for the Toronto Transit Commission said the agency was made aware of a terror threat investigation early the previous day, but noted that it had no specifics attached.
Brad Ross said that as a precaution a "vigilance notice" was issued to all staff encouraging them to say something if they saw something of concern. He said such notices are commonly issued after security incidents around the world or if the TTC is advised of threats closer to home.
"Every circumstance is different," he said when asked how serious threats must be to prompt warnings to commuters as well as staff.
"The response would be based on what those circumstances were. There's not a cookie cutter to how we do those things. After the ... events on Parliament Hill of a couple years ago, we did issue a public address announcement that played in the system reminding people that if they do see something, to say something."
He added the information the TTC was given Wednesday was "very general about a credible threat that was being investigated by police but it had no location, it didn't even say a city as far as I know."
A spokeswoman for Metrolinx, the Ontario government agency which runs the Greater Toronto Area's regional transit lines, says it was also advised of a security threat.
Anne Marie Aikins says the agency raised its level of vigilance and worked closely with national, provincial and local forces in response.
In Strathroy, a neighbour of Driver's said he couldn't recall ever seeing the man around town.
But he said Wednesday's incident — and the discovery that a terror suspect lived only a stone's throw away — hit "a little too close to home."
"For me, having two kids and my wife and a possible terrorist ... sympathizer down the street, it's kind of ... it's a little crazy."
Last year, federal authorities were so suspicious Driver might have ties to a terrorist group that he bounced in and out of jails and courtrooms for months, all without any actual charges ever being laid — and he had no criminal record at the time.
In June 2015, Driver was first picked up in Winnipeg. Published reports at the time suggested Driver posted messages on social media that praised terrorist activities, including the attack on Parliament Hill in October 2014 by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.
Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University who studies radicalization and terrorism, maintained in 2015 that Driver posted for several months on social media about disliking Canada and about a desire to move overseas.
Mounties applied for a peace bond that could impose limits on Driver's activities, alleging in provincial court documents that investigators believed he might help with terrorist group activities.
When Driver, who was in his mid-20s, was released later that month, he was ordered to comply with 18 different conditions, including wearing a GPS tracking device.
In an interview with the CBC in 2015, he described himself as a Muslim.
"And I believe everything that comes along with that," he said. "I don't think Muslims really belong in the West. Our ways of life aren't compatible. We can't ... practice our religion to the fullest extent here, living under Canadian laws or just western laws in general."
Driver was asked what it would take for him to reconsider his pro-terrorism beliefs.
"What it would take would be for the West to just stop killing Muslims, you know, stop bombing. Stop arresting Muslims," he said.
"Take responsibility for the crimes they've committed in the past and just stay at home and work on their own problems instead of trying to solve other people's problems by dropping bombs on them or trying to force democracy on them."
