A security guard alleged to have fired shots and thrown Molotov cocktails in Edmonton city hall in January is now facing several terrorism-related charges.
In a news release Monday, the RCMP said its Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) has charged Bezhani Sarvar, 28, with counselling commission of a terrorism offence and possession of property for terrorist purposes.
Sarvar is also facing nine criminal charges in connection with the Jan. 23 attack at city hall that led to a lockdown.
In its news release, the RCMP say the following criminal charges laid against Sarvar also constitute terrorism offences:
- Intentionally or recklessly cause damage by fire or explosion to property, knowing the property was inhabited.
- Intentionally possess incendiary material while committing an indictable offence.
- Use of a firearm while committing an indictable offence.
- Intentional discharge of a firearm while being reckless as to the life and safety of another person.
- Possession of a prohibited device (two counts).
- Mischief.
- Carrying a concealed weapon.
- Possession of weapon for the purpose of committing an offence.
No one was injured during the attack. The RCMP news release say the criminal investigation is ongoing.
Sarvar is being held at the Calgary Remand Centre.
He is scheduled for a bail hearing on Tuesday, according to court records.
Sarvar had worked for security company Corps of Commissionaires since 2019. He was assigned to a variety of locations across Edmonton but never worked as part of the security detail in city hall, the company said in a news release last month.
In the wake of Sarvar’s arrest, neighbours at his north-side apartment complex described him as quiet, and said he has a wife and children.
CBC also confirmed with four people who know Sarvar that he is the person who appears in a roughly four-minute video that was circulating online in the wake of the shooting, in which he describes wide-ranging thoughts about modern society while referencing a mission.
It’s not clear when or where the video was recorded.
City hall has remained closed to the public and a security review has been underway since the shots were fired inside the building in late January. City staff have since been allowed to return to the building.
