21 Feb 2020: Police allege terrorism in fatal hammer attack

[The Bread Guy]

This from the Toronto Police Service as of this past Saturday ...

On Friday, February 21, 2020 the Toronto Police Service received multiple calls for a possible medical complaint at Sheppard Avenue East near Markham Road

It is reported that:

The victim, a woman, was walking eastbound along Sheppard Avenue East near Markham Road when she was attacked by a man armed with a hammer. She succumbed to her injuries.

The victim has been identified as Hang-Kam Annie Chiu, age 64, of Scarborough.

The accused, Saad Akhtar, age 30, of Scarborough, turned himself in at 42 Division. He was charged with:

1) First-Degree Murder ...

... with this from the attached joint TPS-RCMP news release ...

The  Toronto  Police  Service and  the  Royal  Canadian Mounted  Policeare  providing  an  update  to  the  news  release  that  was  issued  about  Homicide 11/2020 (GO# 2020-372105) onSaturday, February 22, 2020.

During the investigation, evidence was discovered which led investigators to believe the homicide may  have  been  a  terrorist-related  offence.In  line  with  existing  protocols,  the  Royal  Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) was contacted and investigative assistance was requested.

After consulting with federal and provincial Crown Attorneys and with consents from the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Attorney General of Canada, Saad Akhtar appeared in court, for a second time, at 1911 Eglinton Avenue East, on Tuesday, February 25, 2020.

The charge has now been updated to:
1.First-Degree  Murder –Including Terrorist  Activity,  invoking  Section  231  (6.01)  of  the Criminal Code of Canada.

While  the  investigation,  and  prosecution,  will  be  a  collaborative  effort  between  Toronto  Police Service  Homicide  and  INSET  Toronto,  the  public  can  be  assured  this  appears  to  be  an  isolated incident and there is no further known threat to the public associated to the accused at this time ...

... and this from MSM:

A hammer attack that killed a 64-year-old woman in Toronto on Feb. 21 has been linked by police to terrorism, with the alleged murderer now facing a terrorism-related charge.

Saad Akhtar, 30, was already facing a first-degree murder charge over the apparently random killing of the woman, attacked by a man with a hammer on Friday evening.

But on Tuesday, prosecutors updated charge to “murder – terrorist activity.” The charge applies to a murder “if the act or omission constituting the offence also constitutes a terrorist activity.”

The RCMP and Toronto police said in a joint news release the attack “appears to be an isolated incident and there is no further known threat to the public associated to the accused at this time.”

The victim has been identified by police as Hang-Kam Annie Chiu. She was walking on Toronto’s Sheppard Ave. East near Markham Rd. when she was attacked at around 7 p.m.

The accused’s mother told Global News she had no idea who the victim was, calling Chiu “a stranger” to the family and her son.

Akhtar turned himself in to the Toronto Police Service’s 42 Division following the attack.

“As part of our investigation into the homicide, we came across evidence that lead us to believe there may be a terrorism-related offence,” said Toronto police spokesperson Meaghan Gray.

Police then contacted the RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Team in Toronto, which probes terrorism cases.

“And that’s what’s brought us to today where the updated charge was laid in court this morning,” said Gray ...

 

[The Bread Guy]

Bumped with the outcome ....

A man who pleaded guilty to the terror-related killing of a Toronto woman with a hammer was sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

It marked the first conviction under a Criminal Code provision that deems murder to be first degree if it is committed in the course of terrorist activity.

Saad Akhtar had turned himself in after the February 2020 killing in northeast Toronto.

He selected Hang-Kam “Annie” Chiu at random but later told police his motivation was to commit a terrorist attack in the name of terror group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ...

 

[CBH99]

Bumped with the outcome ....

I’m glad he’s going to rot in prison for a solid 25yrs with no eligibility for parole, early release programs, etc. 25yr sentence, and he’s serving the whole thing.

Good. Very good.


Not to make light of what happened, as a 64yr old woman was brutally murdered with something as basic as a hammer.

But WTF man? You’re trying to impress ISIS leadership, or ‘do your part’ - by killing a random 64yr old lady walking down a street?

You admitted to police you wanted to commit a terrorist act, and for that act…you chose to murder someone’s mom?


I am extremely glad he turned out to be such a shitty terrorist. Even moreso now that I hear he can rot behind bars for a long long time. (Unless he goes PC, I don’t give him that long on the inside, tbh)

 

[OldSolduer]

I’m glad he’s going to rot in prison for a solid 25yrs with no eligibility for parole, early release programs, etc. 25yr sentence, and he’s serving the whole thing.

Good. Very good.


Not to make light of what happened, as a 64yr old woman was brutally murdered with something as basic as a hammer.

But WTF man? You’re trying to impress ISIS leadership, or ‘do your part’ - by killing a random 64yr old lady walking down a street?

You admitted to police you wanted to commit a terrorist act, and for that act…you chose to murder someone’s mom?


I am extremely glad he turned out to be such a shitty terrorist. Even moreso now that I hear he can rot behind bars for a long long time. (Unless he goes PC, I don’t give him that long on the inside, tbh)

He may not get out after 25 years. He becomes eligible for parole but the National Parole Board may not grant him parole.

FWIW I think he won't come out alive - at some point he'll be "stabbed up" by other inmates who don't like granny killers.

 

[CBH99]

He may not get out after 25 years. He becomes eligible for parole but the National Parole Board may not grant him parole.

FWIW I think he won't come out alive - at some point he'll be "stabbed up" by other inmates who don't like granny killers.

I know I'm not supposed to say this out loud, but I do hope so. Waste of resources.