Man facing 6 charges after shots fired, Molotov cocktail thrown inside Edmonton city hall
CBC
Charges have been laid against a 28-year-old man accused of firing a long gun inside Edmonton's city hall, forcing the building into a lockdown Tuesday.
Shots were fired and a Molotov cocktail was thrown from the second floor of the atrium before a man was detained by an unarmed security guard.
Bezhani Sarvar is facing six charges in connection with the shooting, according to court documents released to CBC News Wednesday.
The charges include arson, possession of incendiary material, careless use of a firearm, use of firearm while committing an offence and throwing explosives with the intent to cause harm. Police had originally said that Sarvar faced seven charges, but later said one firearm-related charge will be dropped.
Sarvar is scheduled for a bail hearing Thursday.
Edmonton police continue to investigate the motive for the attack. Investigators believe Sarvar acted alone.
In a news release Wednesday, the Edmonton Police Service said the man parked his vehicle in the city hall underground parkade at 10:18 a.m., then entered the building from the parkade access.
"Once inside city hall, he lit several handheld incendiary devices, believed to be Molotov cocktails, that caused one small fire outside an elevator," police said.
"He then fired several rounds from a long gun into the ceiling, walls and windows."
The man then dropped the long gun onto the floor and surrendered to a city hall security commissionaire who detained him until police arrived moments later, police said in the release.
Sarvar has been employed with the security company Corps of Commissionaires since 2019, the company's northern Alberta CEO Nick Grimshaw said in a statement.
Sarvar had been "assigned to a variety of locations within the Edmonton area but was never assigned to the security detail at city hall," the company said in a news release.
"Given the nature of this incident and the ongoing police investigation, we are not able to provide any further comment on this individual."
During a news conference Tuesday, police Chief Dale McFee described the shooter as "heavily armed."
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