00:03Two men have been injured in a stabbing at a Sikh Gurdwara in Edmonton, Canada.
00:07The attack happened early Friday morning, August 21st, at the Nanaksar Gurdwara in northeast Edmonton.
00:14Police began receiving reports of a stabbing at around 5.05am local time.
00:20Investigators say a man entered the Gurdwara and attempted to access the prayer area.
00:25Witnesses intervened as the situation escalated.
00:29Two male worshippers were stabbed during the incident.
00:32Police say the victims are aged 75 and 51.
00:36Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were treated by emergency medical crews.
00:41The reported weapon was a screwdriver, not a knife.
00:45Witnesses managed to restrain the suspect before police arrived.
00:49Officers took him into custody at around 5.10am.
00:53Police have identified the suspect as a 27-year-old man.
00:56However, his name has not been publicly released because charges are still pending.
01:02Investigators say the man is known to police and has a significant history of violent offences dating back to 2015.
01:09Police also revealed he had been released from a federal institution just one day earlier.
01:14He had been serving a sentence connected to aggravated assault and assaulting a peace officer.
01:20After his release, police say he failed to report to his designated Edmonton halfway house.
01:25The motive for the Gurdwara attack remains unclear.
01:29Edmonton police are working with their hate crimes unit to determine whether the incident was hate motivated.
01:35Police have not established that the attack was an anti-Sikh hate crime.
01:39They are also investigating whether ideology played any role.
01:43The attack happened amid heightened concerns about threats against Sikh places of worship in Alberta.
01:49Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the incident as appalling.
01:53He said no one should feel unsafe in their place of worship.
01:56Police say the investigation remains ongoing.
02:00Authorities are asking anyone who witnessed the suspect before the attack to come forward.
02:04For now, the two injured worshippers are expected to recover and investigators continue working to establish exactly what motivated the
02:12attack.
02:14As a Canadian Hindu and a Canadian citizen, when the hate was attacked by Nanak Saragurudwara, we were very disappointed.
02:22Hate has no place in Canadian society.
02:24We are Canadians and we respect each and everyone and each and every faith.
02:29And we ask the government, whoever is behind them, go to the door.
02:37And whoever is the organisations or individuals, they should be brought into the Canadian laws and they should be penalised
02:45for that.
02:46And as a community, whether it is Hindu, Sikh or someone else, we will strengthen the other so that the
02:53situation cannot be in the situation.
02:55Like yesterday's news, it is very unfortunate.
02:58Nanak Saragurudwara, at 5 o'clock in the morning, an unidentified person, attacked by an individual.
03:06And two people have been injured.
03:08Life-threatening injury is not a very shocking, but it is very shocking.
03:11Because it was before the attack of them, it was attacked at 5 o'clock in the morning.
03:15And two people have been injured.
03:17Very unfortunate.
03:43So I condemned any kind of such violence.
03:46And also urge that we must take control of such situations and take all steps that is necessary so that
03:56this does not happen in the future anywhere.
03:58Thank you very much.
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