He seemed like a typical and fairly boring convert': Inside Martin Rouleau’s rapid descent to extremism
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/10/21/he-seemed-like-a-typical-and-fairly-boring-convert-inside-martin-rouleaus-rapid-decent-to-extremism/
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October 20, 2014, Martin Rouleau struck two military in the parking
lot of a shopping centre in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie. He was
later killed in a confrontation with police.
The RCMP said Tuesday it had been working with Martin Rouleau to help
him overcome his extremist thinking and met with him just 11 days
before he allegedly ran down two Canadian Forces members with his car in
an apparent act of terrorism.
At a news conference in Montreal, the Mounties outlined their four months of dealings with the 25-year-old radicalized Muslim convert, who came to RCMP attention in June when he began posting messages on Facebook suggesting he wanted to fight in Syria.
Identified as a “high-risk traveller,” Mr. Rouleau was arrested and questioned at the airport in July as he was leaving for Turkey. The RCMP seized his passport, but there was not enough evidence to charge him and he was released, said Supt. Martine Fontaine.
But police met repeatedly with Mr. Rouleau, his family and the imam at the mosque he attended, trying to talk him down from his newfound obsession with Islamist extremism. “We wanted to avoid his turning to violence,” the superintendent said.
The last intervention occurred on Oct. 9. The meeting ended on a positive note, with Mr. Rouleau saying he wanted to change his ways, said Supt. Fontaine. “We did not have any indication, none whatsoever, of his intention to commit a crime in Canada,” she said. “If we did, we would have arrested him.” He was not monitored after that.
The RCMP’s account of its interactions with Mr. Rouleau came a day after he is believed to have taken a Nissan Altima to a strip mall in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., at about 9 a.m. and waited two hours before running down two Canadian Forces members. Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, 53, died of his injuries. The other victim is expected to survive.
“This was a despicable act of violence,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the House of Commons on Tuesday after paying tribute to Warrant Officer Vincent as a 28-year veteran of “distinguished service throughout this country.”
Following the attack, Mr. Rouleau called 911 to claim responsibility. A patrol officer who witnessed the events followed Mr. Rouleau, who flipped his car into a ditch. When he emerged from the vehicle with a knife, police shot him dead.
The attack came a month after Abu Muhammad Adnani, a spokesman for
the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, urged followers
to kill Canadians, suggesting they single out a victim and “run him over
with your car.”
Investigators are treating the incident as an act of terrorism and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney acknowledged as much, telling reporters in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu that “what took place is clearly linked to extremist ideology.”
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said that while the hit-and-run was a criminal act, “there are national security implications. There is reason to believe the event was the violent expression of an extremist ideology promoted by terrorist groups with global followings.”
Mr. Rouleau appeared to be acting on his own rather than as part of a terrorist group. But he was predictably declared a “martyr” by ISIS extremists. A Canadian member of ISIS who goes by Abu Khalid Al Kanadi urged others to “follow the footsteps of our brave brother Martin Rouleau who took revenge for Canadian military aggression in our lands.”
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At a news conference in Montreal, the Mounties outlined their four months of dealings with the 25-year-old radicalized Muslim convert, who came to RCMP attention in June when he began posting messages on Facebook suggesting he wanted to fight in Syria.
Identified as a “high-risk traveller,” Mr. Rouleau was arrested and questioned at the airport in July as he was leaving for Turkey. The RCMP seized his passport, but there was not enough evidence to charge him and he was released, said Supt. Martine Fontaine.
But police met repeatedly with Mr. Rouleau, his family and the imam at the mosque he attended, trying to talk him down from his newfound obsession with Islamist extremism. “We wanted to avoid his turning to violence,” the superintendent said.
The last intervention occurred on Oct. 9. The meeting ended on a positive note, with Mr. Rouleau saying he wanted to change his ways, said Supt. Fontaine. “We did not have any indication, none whatsoever, of his intention to commit a crime in Canada,” she said. “If we did, we would have arrested him.” He was not monitored after that.
The RCMP’s account of its interactions with Mr. Rouleau came a day after he is believed to have taken a Nissan Altima to a strip mall in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., at about 9 a.m. and waited two hours before running down two Canadian Forces members. Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, 53, died of his injuries. The other victim is expected to survive.
“This was a despicable act of violence,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the House of Commons on Tuesday after paying tribute to Warrant Officer Vincent as a 28-year veteran of “distinguished service throughout this country.”
Following the attack, Mr. Rouleau called 911 to claim responsibility. A patrol officer who witnessed the events followed Mr. Rouleau, who flipped his car into a ditch. When he emerged from the vehicle with a knife, police shot him dead.
FacebookImage
from the Facebook page of Martin " Ahmad" Rouleau. On October 20,
2014, Martin Rouleau struck two military in the parking lot of a
shopping centre in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. He was later killed
in a confrontation with police.
Investigators are treating the incident as an act of terrorism and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney acknowledged as much, telling reporters in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu that “what took place is clearly linked to extremist ideology.”
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said that while the hit-and-run was a criminal act, “there are national security implications. There is reason to believe the event was the violent expression of an extremist ideology promoted by terrorist groups with global followings.”
Mr. Rouleau appeared to be acting on his own rather than as part of a terrorist group. But he was predictably declared a “martyr” by ISIS extremists. A Canadian member of ISIS who goes by Abu Khalid Al Kanadi urged others to “follow the footsteps of our brave brother Martin Rouleau who took revenge for Canadian military aggression in our lands.”
CLICK TO READ MORE
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