The passport of Martin Couture-Rouleau, 25 years old, was seized by police investigating a person suspected of collaborating with terrorist groups. The man was one of the 90 militants who were being monitored. Martin Couture-Rouleau ran over two Canadian soldiers with his car, killing one and wounding another, after which he fled from the scene. Martin Couture-Rouleau, a Muslim convert, was killed by police officers at St. Jean sur Richelieu after the hit and run incident. The attack was labeled as “a terrible act of violence against our country” by Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney.
The dead soldier was identified as Warrant Ofc Patrice Vincent. He was 53 years old and a 28-year veteran of the Canadian military. The other soldier who was involved in the hit and run incident was not severely injured, according to police officials. Bob Paulson, Commissioner for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that authorities were monitoring the group, of which the hit and run killer was part of. It was suspected that its members intended to go abroad and join the Islamic State. The authorities had seized the hit and run killer’s passport in July, when he wanted to travel to Turkey. Then he was arrested, however there was not enough evidence to charge him with a crime.
Officials from RCMP said that they had met the hit and run killer on a few occasions. They even met with his parents and the imam at the mosque he frequented in order to try and make him change his views. Supt Fontaine declared, on Tuesday: “Many interventions with him were carried out to try and avoid the tragic events. It’s very difficult when someone is planning an act alone and there is no obvious preparation involved and used a vehicle as a weapon”. Martin Couture-Rouleau drove his car in a car park which at that moment was serving a Canadian military office in the town of St Jean sur Richelieu, at about 25 miles south-east of Montreal. The hit and run killer had been waiting in his car for two hours before he finally attacked, according to Guy Lapointe, spokesman for the Quebec Police.
The hit and run attack comes as a shock in Canada. The country has been known for its neutrality regarding foreign conflicts. Canada even worked close with U.S. authorities in an attempt to stop terrorist threats. However, this month the Canadian Parliament voted in favor of sending military personnel and fighter jets to join the U.S. in its fighting operations against the Islamic State in Iraq.