The Edmonton City Hall in Edmonton, Canada, will be closed indefinitely for repairs after a shooting where shots were fired, and a Molotov cocktail exploded inside the building on January 23rd, causing damage to the building and shock to many Canadians.

Terror attack at Edmonton City Hall:

Footage of Muslim, Bezhani Sarvarl, wearing a Commissionaires security jacket shooting and throwing a Molotov cocktail at the local government building. In a video posted before the attack, the 28 year old Afghan immigrant pic.twitter.com/xCImxWcJJG

— lee (@Leeonie_2) January 28, 2024

28-year-old Bezhani Sarvar was arrested for carrying out a terrorist attack in the Edmonton City Hall on the morning of January 23rd. He is facing six charges, including arson with disregard for human life, possession of an incendiary material, use of a firearm while committing an offense, placing or throwing an explosive substance, careless use of a firearm, and discharge of a firearm while being reckless as to the life or safety of another person.

An initial charge of knowingly possessing an unauthorized firearm was going to be dropped, according to authorities, on January 24th. On the same day, the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, a national non-profit security firm and the largest private sector employer for Canadian veterans, also confirmed that Sarvar was an employee and had worked as a commissionaire since 2019 at various locations in Edmonton but was not assigned in the city hall.

“We are aware of the identity of the individual who was arrested by police and can confirm that he was an employee of the Corps of Commissionaires,” the statement the organization released on January 24th said. 

The Edmonton Police Service said the Edmonton City Hall was full of people when Sarvar parked his car in the city hall’s underground parkade at around 10:15 to 10:18 AM and entered the building. Once inside the city hall, authorities said the suspect lit several “handheld incendiary devices” - believed to be Molotov cocktails - and caused a small fire outside an elevator. 

Police said Sarvar then fired several rounds from his assault rifle into the city hall’s ceilings, windows, and walls. Security footage inside the Edmonton City Hall captured the suspect inside the building, holding an assault rifle and wearing a Commissionaires security jacket as well as a vest and security shirt.

Edmonton’s Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, the city’s fire chief, and several city councilors, city staff, and journalists were inside the city hall attending an emergency management committee meeting when the shooting took place. A first-grade class from Edmonton Public Schools was also on a field trip to the city hall when the shots rang out. The officials, journalists, city staff, and students were safely evacuated outside the building, and there were no reported casualties from the attack.

I HAD NO IDEA THIS EVEN HAPPENED!https://t.co/ovmrGwPGXO

— (@MatBabiak) January 25, 2024

The attack ended after Sarvar, according to the police, put down his weapon and surrendered to a City Hall security commissionaire present in the city hall. The commissionaire, a Canadian army veteran who has been working as a commissionaire since February 2023, detained the suspect until Edmonton Police arrived at the scene moments later. 

“One of our employees on site was involved in detaining the armed individual and went above and beyond his normal duties as a Commissionaire,” the Commissionaires’ statement said.

Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee said during a press conference on the day of the attacks that Sarvar was heavily armed and shooting “randomly,” not necessarily at people. He also believes that he acted alone and had no accomplices during the terror attack while reassuring the public that “there are no further concerns for public safety.” 

An alleged video of the Edmonton City Hall shooter has surfaced, where he explains the motivation for his “mission” pic.twitter.com/2s7z9ZOWfl

— YEGWAVE (@yegwave) January 24, 2024

Although investigations into Sarvar’s motives for the attack are still ongoing, a video of the suspect sitting in his vehicle and talking about completing a mission became viral on numerous social media platforms, and police are looking into the video, which has a connection with the shooting.

While the 4-minute-long video was taken down on YouTube, a copy of the video was shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), where Sarvar, wearing the Commissionaires jacket, was seen in the security footage. In the video, Sarvar began by saying, “As-salaam alaykum,” a religious salutation used by Muslims, and clarified that he was not a psychopath or one of the “monsters” who hurt children and innocent people. 

How is this not the biggest story in Canada right now?

— tastybh (@tasty3h) January 26, 2024

He then began discussing various societal issues, such as corruption, inflation, the housing crisis, and immigration. Sarvar also talked about how the ongoing war in Gaza and “wokeism,” which he called a disease, inspired him to carry out his mission. 

Sarvar will appear at the Edmonton law courts for a bail hearing on February 2.