Canada’s correctional authorities say they were required by law to release a man who was quickly re-arrested following a double stabbing at an Edmonton Sikh temple.
The 27-year-old, who has yet to be identified pending charges in Friday’s attack, had been freed from a federal prison in Alberta just one day before allegedly attacking two worshipers at Nanaksar Gurdwara with a screwdriver.
Police say they’re investigating whether the early morning attack, which sent two men to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, was a hate crime. The violence made global headlines and attracted condemnation from leaders including Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Edmonton police said Friday that the man had a “significant” history of violent crime and had just served around 20 months of a 30 month sentence for assault. He had been seen walking in traffic on Highway 15 just moments before the attack, which happened just after 5 a.m.
On Sunday, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) confirmed the suspect was freed from prison on statutory release.
“Statutory release is not a choice or discretionary decision by CSC — it is required by law after an offender serves two-thirds of a fixed-length federal sentence, with the offender being supervised in the community under conditional release,” CSC said in a statement.
Statutory release is intended to reintegrate prisoners into the community while they can still be supervised by correctional authorities. All but a small percentage of prisoners receive statutory release; usually only the most violent or unmanageable are held past their statutory release date.
Parole, on the other hand, usually happens around the one-third mark of a sentence and is at the discretion of the Parole Board of Canada.
CSC offered condolences to the Sikh community and promised a full investigation.
“We take this incident very seriously and are working closely with the Edmonton Police Service as they thoroughly investigate this matter,” a spokesperson said. “In addition to supporting the police, CSC is launching an immediate review of all circumstances surrounding this case to identify any additional actions, as required.”
Friday’s attack led to tense speculation within the Sikh community, which has reported an increase in threats and discrimination. Leaders in the community said Canadian Sikhs are fearful of both threats from the anti-immigrant far right, as well as the Indian government, which has targeted Sikhs around the world, including those involved in the Khalistan movement.
Particularly inflammatory were reports the Edmonton attacker had damaged the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, a Sikh scripture regarded as a living guru. While some initially said the scripture was damaged, the Sri Akal Takht Sahib, the Sikh community’s highest temporal authority in Amritsar, Punjab, said Saturday that the text was not damaged.
Nanaksar Gurdwara is located in northeast Edmonton not far from the maximum security Edmonton Institution men’s prison — though police said the suspect was not an inmate at that facility.
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