Attack, high-speed chase deemed terrorism by Justin Trudeau

Police investigate the scene where a car crashed into a roadblock in Edmonton, Canada. Photo / AP

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the Saturday night stabbing of a police officer in Edmonton and resulting high-speed chase that injured four people as a "terrorist attack."

"While the investigation continues, early reports indicate that this is another example of the hate that we must remain ever vigilant against," the prime minister said in a statement yesterday.

The assault happened outside an Edmonton Eskimos' Canadian Football League game. A man driving a Chevrolet Malibu drove into a police officer, got out of the vehicle and began stabbing the officer before fleeing the scene, Edmonton Police Service Chief Rod Knecht said in a press conference early yesterday.

A U-Haul truck rests on its side after a high-speed chase with police in Edmonton, Alberta. Photo / AP

Later the driver, initially identified only as a male about 30 years old, was stopped at a checkpoint driving a U-Haul truck before taking off, leading to a high-speed chase in which four pedestrians were injured before police apprehended the suspect.

The Edmonton attack follows a series of assaults deemed terrorist incidents around the world during the past year, including a blast on a commuter train in London last month. Earlier this year, a gunman killed six people inside a mosque in Quebec City. In 2014, a man killed a soldier in Ottawa and stormed the parliament building with a rifle before he was shot.

Canada has been supporting Kurdish forces that are fighting the Islamic State in northern Iraq. An Islamic State flag was found on the seat of the Malibu and seized as evidence in the investigation, Knecht said.

The suspect in the attacks is in custody and is believed to have acted alone, although police are not ruling out that others may have been involved, Knecht said.