Somali refugee charged with attack in Edmonton

Police investigate the scene where a car crashed into a roadblock in Edmonton, Alberta. A Somali refugee has been arrested following the incident. Photo / AP

Canadian police have charged a Somali refugee with five counts of attempted murder after they said he stabbed a police officer and ran down several pedestrians with a car in Edmonton, Alberta, in an apparent act of terrorism.

The suspect, a 30-year-old man whom police did not identify, had been investigated two years ago for promoting extremist ideology but not deemed a threat, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Marlin Degrand said an "exhaustive investigation" into the man in 2015 did not uncover sufficient evidence to pursue charges.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Marlin Degrand, left, listens as Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht speaks about an attack in Edmonton. Photo / AP

Canadian media identified the suspect as Abdulahi Hasan Sharif.

The attacks in the western Canadian city began when a Chevy Malibu hit a police officer standing in front of a football stadium on Saturday evening, sending him flying into the air. The driver got out of the car and stabbed the officer multiple times before fleeing, according to police accounts and surveillance footage of the incident.

Police identified the suspect when he was stopped at a checkpoint and his license showed that he was the owner of the Malibu. He fled the checkpoint and was apprehended after a police chase across a downtown street, during which he hit four pedestrians.

A flag of the Islamic State militant group was found inside the Malibu, said Rod Knecht, police chief of Edmonton, Alberta's provincial capital.

"To the best of our knowledge, this was a lone-wolf attack," Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson told reporters. "There's no immediate cause for panic or concern."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attack in a statement that called it "another example of the hate that we must remain ever vigilant against." Canada's government said it would keep the terrorist threat level at medium, where it has been since late 2014.

- AAP