ISIS claimed responsibility Wednesday for the Toronto mass shooting that killed two women, injured 13 others and left suspected gunman Faisal Hussain dead. The Canadian government continues to insist that the incident has “no connection … to national security.”
But the ISIS AMAQ propaganda organ says Hussain was one of theirs, “a soldier of the Islamic State [who] carried out the attack in response to calls to target the citizens of coalition countries.”
As
Fox News reports, the statement is phrased in such a manner to suggest that Hussain viewed ISIS as his inspiration for the terrorist attack, not his direct commander.
AMAQ referred to a “security source” to back up its claim and did not provide any further evidence of collaboration.
Canadian officials and much of the mainstream media continues to ignore the terrorist angle in this story, insisting Hussain suffered from some form of mental illness. On Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale reiterated this contention.
“At this stage, based on the state of the investigation, which is led by the Toronto police service, there is no connection between that individual and national security,” he told reporters.
Reports in the
Toronto Sun, however, suggest that Hussain was indeed a security risk, whom police were monitoring because he “supported” pro-ISIS websites; had a history of violent altercations; was known to federal, provincial and city police; and had a murky past with residences reportedly in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
2:07 PM 07/25/2018 David Krayden Bureau Chief
