TWO MEN, including a priest, were injured after a 27-year-old man allegedly stabbed them with a screwdriver inside a gurdwara in Edmonton, Canada, police said.
The incident took place at Nanaksar Sikh Gurdwara in north-east Edmonton at about 5am local time on Friday. Police said the suspect entered the gurdwara and tried to access the prayer area before staff confronted him.
The confrontation escalated and two men, aged 75 and 51, were stabbed, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said.
Witnesses intervened and detained the suspect until police arrived and arrested him, the force said.
The two injured men were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect was also injured and taken to hospital, CBC News reported.
Prime minister Mark Carney condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the Sikh community.
“The attack at the Nanaksar Gurdwara in Edmonton this morning is appalling. My thoughts are with the two people who were injured and the wider community that is shaken by this terrible event,” Carney said in a post on X.
“No one should ever feel unsafe in their place of worship. I want to thank the Edmonton Police Service for their swift response,” he added.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also condemned the violence and called for reforms to federal bail and parole laws, reports said.
She added that the attack showed the need for the federal government to take bail and parole reform seriously.
'Shocking violence'
Naheed Nenshi, leader of Alberta’s official opposition, described the violence at the gurdwara as shocking. He said crimes in places of worship were particularly disturbing and had left members of the community shaken, CBC News reported.
Police said the suspect had been seen walking in traffic on Highway 15 shortly before the stabbing.
The suspect was known to police and had a history of violent attacks dating back to 2015, police said. He had been released from a federal prison in Alberta the day before the attack but failed to report to his designated halfway house in Edmonton, officials said.
The EPS Investigative Response Team has taken over the case and is working with the Hate Crimes Unit to determine whether the attack was hate-motivated. Police said charges are pending.
Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple vice president Zora Grewal identified the injured men as a temple priest and a longtime volunteer, CBC News reported.
Grewal said the suspect allegedly used a screwdriver to stab the priest repeatedly before attacking the elderly volunteer. He said no Sikh scripture was damaged in the incident.
EPS Chief Warren Driechel said the incident had not resulted in more serious injuries or deaths but acknowledged the trauma caused to the victims and the Sikh community.
“This level of violence has no place in our city,” he said, adding that police were taking the incident and the safety of Edmonton’s Sikh community seriously.
World Sikh Organisation of Canada president Danish Singh called on gurdwaras across the country to review their security measures.
“We are asking gurdwaras across Canada to review and strengthen their security procedures and to remain vigilant,” Singh said.
Friday’s stabbing came days after two Sikh temples in Alberta received threatening phone calls.
Calgary police said the two temples, both in the city’s north-east, received threatening calls from the same number on August 15.
Police said they were working closely with the temples as the investigation continued, but there was no indication of an active threat to the wider community.
