Security guard accused in Edmonton city hall shooting makes court appearance
Edmonton Canada January 26, 2024, The security guard accused of firing shots and causing a small fire with Molotov cocktails inside Edmonton’s city hall on Tuesday is being held in a maximum security unit in the Edmonton Remand Centre.
Bezhani Sarvar, 28, appeared by video Thursday in Edmonton’s Court of King’s Bench.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, Sarvar didn’t speak during his brief appearance.
He is facing six criminal charges, including reckless discharge of a firearm, using/placing/throwing an explosive substance, arson, possession of incendiary material, using a firearm while committing an offense and careless use of a firearm.
Sarvar had been scheduled for a bail hearing, but his defense lawyer, David Ibrahim, requested that the case be put over while he waits for Crown prosecutors to provide him with the information he needs to prepare for the hearing.
Sarvar is next expected to appear in court on Feb. 2.
Sarvar has worked for the security company Corps of Commissionaires since 2019.
He was assigned to a variety of locations across Edmonton but never worked as part of the security detail in city hall, the company said in a news release on Wednesday.
Ibrahim said he was retained to represent Sarvar on Wednesday.
He said he’s only spoken with his client briefly and can’t comment on the allegations at this point or speak to Sarvar’s state of mind.
Ibrahim said he has also been in touch with Sarvar’s father and brother-in-law, and that he expects that when a bail hearing is held, it will take at least a day or two.
“Obviously, that’s always the goal,” Ibrahim said when asked if he’d be seeking his client’s release.
CBC has confirmed with four people who know Sarvar that he is the person who appears in a roughly four-minute video that is circulating online, including on YEGWAVE’s Instagram page, in which he describes wide-ranging thoughts about modern society while referencing a mission.
It’s not clear when or where the video was recorded.
Emmanuel Cruz, Sarvar’s next-door neighbour, was shocked when he heard the news of Sarvar’s arrest and said the man in the video does not align with the person he knows.
“Not in a million years. This is just out of the blue… It’s not, like, his nature I would say,” he said.
Cruz and other neighbours who CBC News spoke with describe a man with a calm demeanour, who did not draw attention to himself and who never displayed any signs of violence.
They said Sarvar is married with three children, with Cruz adding that Sarvar expressed how he liked his job as a security guard because it provided for his family.
‘Heavily armed’ man arrested after shots fired, Molotov cocktail thrown in Edmonton city hall
In a news release Wednesday, EPS said the video is under review.
“Our officers are working closely with our national security partners on this investigation,” police Chief Dale McFee said in a statement.
“I would like to reassure the public that we believe there is no further threat to public safety at this time. The investigation is in its early stages, and we will continue to update Edmontonians as it progresses.”
Police say they are working with the RCMP Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSET) — a specialized unit that investigates issues related to national security — on the investigation.
Police officers were observed entering Sarvar’s home in a north Edmonton apartment building on Thursday.
Other residents of the complex told CBC News that Sarvar has a wife and children and said that he seemed normal and quiet.
“I’d never seen any arguments or fights or interactions with other tenants. It was very cordial, said neighbor Louise Hackman.
