On Tuesday, the man accused in a series of attacks in Edmonton appeared in court for the first time, as more details on his background came to light.
Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30, appeared Tuesday morning in an Edmonton courtroom via closed circuit television. He faces 11 charges in connection to the attacks Saturday, five counts of attempted murder, four counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm while fleeing police, and one charge each of dangerous driving, and possession of a weapon.
Police have confirmed Sharif is a refugee from Somalia – Ahmed Ali, a spokesperson for the Somalian community in Edmonton was in the courtroom Tuesday.
“As a community, we just want to support the EPS and RCMP to do their job properly,” Ali said, addressing reporters outside the law courts.
“What I am trying to do is to make sure that Edmonton understands that we are here as a community and we condemn this behaviour and we want to make sure that Edmontonians feel safe.”
Also in the courtroom was Mahamad Accord, a community advocate with the Edmonton Coalition for Human Rights and Justice.
“As you know, Canadians, everybody has the right to fair trial and that’s what we make sure that he gets every bit of legal advice that he can defend himself,” Accord said.
Accord said Sharif has family in Canada, his brother lives in Toronto, and he called the acts of the accused a cry for help.
“If he needs a health assessment, we will get it,” Accord said.
It appears Sharif has had run-ins with authorities in the United States in the past, he was supposed to be deported to Somalia in 2012, but officers couldn’t find him.
Sharif is in custody at the Edmonton Remand Centre. He is scheduled to appear in court again in six weeks – he will need to secure a lawyer in that time.
With files from Jeremy Thompson
