Police: Canadian terror suspect killed during final stage of attack planning

Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
(Image credit: Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images)

Authorities in Canada say a 24-year-old man killed during a raid at his house on Wednesday was finalizing plans to detonate a homemade bomb in a public place.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Thursday that Aaron Driver, a known Islamic State supporter, died in the back seat of a taxi after he detonated an explosive device as police closed in on him. Police had said on Wednesday he was fatally shot by officers, but on Thursday they could not say if he died because of the explosive device or because he was shot, Reuters reports. The RCMP decided to raid Driver's home in Strathroy, Ontario, after they received "credible information," including a "martyrdom video" from the FBI. "The outcome if we had not been able to apprehend him, based on his actions when he was confronted, could have been significantly more dreadful," Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana said. "It was a race against time."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.