The victim of an alleged ISIS attack in Surrey over the weekend says the attack was random and unprovoked.
On Saturday, Abdul Aziz Kawam was arrested after allegedly attacking a man while on a bus travelling on the Fraser Highway at 9:30 a.m. Kawam is also alleged to have held a knife to the throat of another individual at a bus stop four blocks away.
The victim of the violent attack told his family in a series of text messages that “there was absolutely no altercation or anything like that before he attacked.”
The victim described the attacker as “a little off” when he boarded the bus.
“He said nothing. Just thought he tripped, then I seen the knife (sic). Then self-defence mode kicked in. Managed to push him off the bus,” the victim said in a text message which was shared with Global News by his brother-in-law Chris Jensen.
The victim confirmed that the knife nicked his vocal cords and an artery.
Kawam was scheduled to return to court on Wednesday.
Following the attack on Saturday, Kawam was initially charged with one charge of attempted murder, two of assault with a weapon and one of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
However, on Monday, investigators with the Metro Vancouver Transit Police reached out to the RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Team due to disturbing comments allegedly made by Kawam.
Kawam allegedly made statements about having conducted the attack for the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
