Father and son facing terror charges were planning ‘serious violent attack in Toronto’: RCMP

RCMP say a father and son who were arrested in Richmond Hill on terrorism charges last week were “in the advanced stages of planning a serious violent attack in Toronto.”

At a news conference Wednesday morning, RCMP officials said an Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) became aware of the threat in early July.

“On July, 28 2024, GTA INSET arrested a father and son at a hotel in Richmond Hill who were in the advanced stages of planning a serious violent attack in Toronto,” Assistant Commissioner Matt Peggs, Commanding Officer for Ontario, told reporters.

An emergency response team moved in to arrest the pair at a hotel room they were renting in Richmond Hill that night after the men allegedly acquired an axe and a machete.

Officials said the arrests were effected “in a textbook fashion” without any excess damage “beyond what you’d expect” and no injuries.

“The teams that were responsible and the support teams that were responsible for effecting that arrest completed their job in a tactical manner,” RCMP Superintendent James Parr said. “They did it exactly the way they’re trained, and it went off exactly the way that it was planned.”

Read more: CTV News (Canada)