A 32-year-old woman facing multiple charges after allegedly pulling out a knife and swinging a golf club at employees of a Toronto store pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in court.
When asked her name during a court appearance on Tuesday, Rehab Dughmosh said through an interpreter: “ISIS – I pledge to the leader of the believers: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi."
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the leader of the Islamic State militant group, or ISIS.
CTV News has learned that the incident that led to Dughmosh’s arrest occurred at a Canadian Tire store located in Scarborough over the weekend, and the woman reportedly expressed support for ISIS at the time.
Police said Tuesday the incident happened in the paint section of the store around 5:10 p.m. on Saturday. The woman began to “swing the golf club” at store employees and a customer, and she uttered threats, police allege.
Police also allege the woman pulled out a large knife from under her clothing. She was restrained, police said, as an employee pried the knife out her hand. The store employee received non-life-threatening injuries. Police later arrested the woman.
Dughmosh has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, assault, uttering a threat to cause death, two counts of possession of a weapon for committing an offence and carrying a concealed weapon.
In an email to CTV News, RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Harold Pfleiderer said the Greater Toronto Area Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) is working with Toronto police to investigate “an incident that occurred on June 3, 2017 at a Toronto area Canadian Tire store.”
However, he said that there is “no outstanding risk” to public safety.
Dughmosh was not granted bail during her court appearance Tuesday.
She is scheduled to appear in court again on June 21.
