Wednesday October 23, 2019
A man accused of stabbing an Edmonton police officer and striking four pedestrians with a cube van was trying to cause as much chaos and destruction as possible, the Crown said in its closing statement Wednesday.
Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 32, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges, which include five counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault against the officer and dangerous driving.
“This is a case which first starts with a man preparing on Sept. 30, 2017, to go to extraordinary lengths to cause as much chaos, destruction and indiscriminate death as possible,” Chief Crown Prosecutor Shelley Bykewich told the jury.
She noted that Const. Mike Chernyk was on special duty at an Edmonton Eskimos football game that night when he was first hit by a car.
“He testified that he thought the car was going to hit him and so he turned to his left to try to get out of the way,” Bykewich said. “The next thing that Const. Chernyk remembers is flying through the air.”