Latest news with #ShaheerCassim
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Man calling himself 'climate change messiah' charged after plane hijacking which saw fighter jets scrambled
A Canadian man who called himself the messiah of climate change allegedly hijacked a small plane at the Vancouver airport. Shaheer Cassim, 39, has been charged with hijacking, constituting terrorism, over the Tuesday incident, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He seized control of a Cessna at Victoria International Airport on Vancouver Island by threatening a flight instructor and then flew the aircraft about 40 miles. 'We have an incident right above our airspace here — a hijacked 172,' an official said in a recording of air traffic control reported by the Vancouver Sun. The hijacking caused the North American Aerospace Defense Command to scramble F-15 fighter jets before the plane safely landed. Footage showed several police vehicles and armed officers surrounding the small white plane on the runway in Vancouver. 'Investigators have determined the suspect acted with an ideological motive to disrupt airspace,' said Sgt. Tammy Lobb. A man with the same name and who resembles Cassim posted on social media that he was a 'messenger of Allah' and a 'Messiah' sent to save humanity from climate change. He seized control of a Cessna at Victoria International Airport on Vancouver Island by threatening a flight instructor then flew about 40 miles He said 'the Angel Gabriel appeared before me and gave me a message from Allah.' Cassim's last post warned about 'abrupt runaway global warming' that will cause humans to go extinct within a few years. Cassim also said in the post that he is 'Sam Carana,' who runs the 'Arctic News' blog that describes itself as a place where contributors 'all share a deep concern about the way climate change is unfolding in the Arctic and the threat that this poses for the world at large.' His Facebook profile said he was employed from 2008 to 2010 by now-defunct KD Air, a small airline based on Vancouver Island. The airline's former owners, Diana and Lars Banke, told the Associated Press that Cassim was one of the smartest and best pilots they ever worked with, calling him a fast learner who was highly intelligent. Lars said Cassim left the airline after getting 'bored' and then went to medical school. He also said Cassim believed the world was coming to an end. Diana said she was 'very surprised' to hear of Cassim's charges, saying he was quite young when he worked for them and was 'like a kid.' Lars said he recalled that Cassim was somewhat interested in environmentalism, but he was unaware of any kind of religious beliefs. 'He never spoke religion with us,' Diana said. 'I'm really surprised that he would´ve done something like this.' In 2012, Cassim held a news conference before going on a cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness for global warming. British Columbia Premier David Eby said the hijacking was a 'bizarre moment,' and the fact that it ended without a more significant disruption at the airport is a 'testament' to the skill of responders who talked the suspect down.
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Man charged with hijacking small plane, causing fighter jets to scramble in Vancouver: "Ideological motive"
A Canadian man has been charged with hijacking a small plane after he caused a security scare at Vancouver's airport this week. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Thursday Shaheer Cassim, 39, has been charged with hijacking, constituting terrorism, over the incident Tuesday that saw the North American Aerospace Defense Command scramble F-15 fighter jets before the plane safely landed. The RCMP said he seized control of a Cessna 172 at Victoria International Airport on Vancouver Island by threatening a flight instructor, before flying about 40 miles to Vancouver. In a recording of air traffic control posted to an official can be heard stating: "We have an incident right above our airspace here — a hijacked 172," the Vancouver Sun reported. Images published by public broadcaster CBC and video shared online showed the small white Cessna surrounded by security vehicles on a runway after landing in Vancouver. "Investigators have determined the suspect acted with an ideological motive to disrupt airspace," Sgt. Tammy Lobb said in a statement. A man with the same name and who resembles Cassim posted on social media that he was a "messenger of Allah" and a "Messiah" sent to save humanity from climate change. He said "the Angel Gabriel appeared before me and gave me a message from Allah." Cassim's last post warns about "abrupt runaway global warming" that will cause humans to go extinct within a few years. Cassim also said in the post that he is "Sam Carana," who runs the "Arctic News" blog that describes itself as a place where contributors "all share a deep concern about the way climate change is unfolding in the Arctic and the threat that this poses for the world at large." His Facebook profile says he was employed from 2008 to 2010 by now-defunct KD Air, a small airline based on Vancouver Island. The airline's former owners, Diana and Lars Banke, said in an interview Wednesday that Cassim was one of the smartest and best pilots they ever worked with, calling him a fast learner who was highly intelligent. But Lars Banke said Cassim left the airline after getting "bored" and then went to medical school. He also said Cassim believed the world was coming to an end. Diana Banke said she was "very surprised" to hear of Cassim's charges, saying he was quite young when he worked for them and was "like a kid." Lars Banke said he recalled that Cassim was somewhat interested in environmentalism, but he was unaware of any kind of religious beliefs. "He never spoke religion with us," Diana Banke said. "I'm really surprised that he would've done something like this," she added. In 2012, Cassim held a news conference before going on a cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness for global warming. British Columbia Premier David Eby said when asked about the incident Thursday that it was a "bizarre moment," and the fact that it ended without a more significant disruption at the airport is a "testament" to the skill of responders who talked the suspect down. Vancouver International Airport said in a statement that nine inbound flights were diverted during the incident with a temporary halt to operations ordered across the airport in the West Coast city. Flights were grounded for 39 minutes. Airport head of communications Stephen Smart told the CBC that it "could have lasted a lot longer."
UPI
2 days ago
- UPI
Man charged with hijacking small airplane in British Columbia
July 18 (UPI) -- Federal authorities in Canada have arrested and charged a 39-year-old man accused of hijacking a small airplane in British Columbia. Shaheer Cassim was charged with one count of hijacking and has been remanded until his next court appearance on Tuesday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement. RCMP in Richmond, B.C., said in a statement that it received a report at about 1:10 p.m. PDT Tuesday that a Cessna 172 had been hijacked from the Vancouver Island area and was entering airspace near Vancouver International Airport. The suspect was the only occupant of the aircraft. Little information about the hijacking was made public, but the RCMP said in a statement that the suspect was taken into custody without incident by Richmond RCMP officers after the plane safely landed at Vancouver International Airport. "Investigators have determined the suspect acted with an ideological motive to disrupt airspace," Sgt. Tammy Lobb, media relations officer with federal policing, Pacific region, said in a statement. "Thankfully, no one was injured during this incident." Victoria International Airport confirmed the hijacking in a statement, stating that the involved plane was operated by the Victoria Flying Club. "As this remains an active investigation, we will not be providing further comment at this time," it said. Garry Begg, solicitor general and minister of public safety in the province, offered his thanks online to police, air traffic controllers, airport personnel and "everyone who swiftly responded to today's incident." "Relieved that no one was physically harmed, the plane has landed safely and that air travel has safely resumed," he said in a statement.
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
New details of a potential motive for man charged in alleged plane hijacking in B.C.
Shaheer Cassim has been charged with one count of hijacking after an incident that saw flights grounded at Vancouver's airport for a little under an hour. Police have said the suspect acted with an ideological motive to disrupt airspace. A Facebook profile of a man with the same name that lists him as holding a commercial pilot's licence and having worked on Vancouver Island makes religious references and describes himself as both a "Messiah" and as someone "sent by Allah" to save the world from climate change.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Associated Press
Canadian man charged with hijacking that caused security scare at Vancouver airport
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A Canadian man has been charged with hijacking a small plane after he caused a security scare at Vancouver's airport this week. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Thursday Shaheer Cassim, 39, has been charged with hijacking, constituting terrorism, over the incident Tuesday that saw the North American Aerospace Defense Command scramble F-15 fighter jets before the plane safely landed. The RCMP said he seized control of a Cessna at Victoria International Airport on Vancouver Island by threatening a flight instructor, before flying about 40 miles (64 kilometers) to Vancouver. 'Investigators have determined the suspect acted with an ideological motive to disrupt airspace,' said Sgt. Tammy Lobb in a statement late Wednesday. A man with the same name and who resembles Cassim posted on social media that he was a 'messenger of Allah' and a 'Messiah' sent to save humanity from climate change. He said 'the Angel Gabriel appeared before me and gave me a message from Allah.' Cassim's last post warns about 'abrupt runaway global warming' that will cause humans to go extinct within a few years. Cassim also said in the post that he is 'Sam Carana,' who runs the 'Arctic News' blog that describes itself as a place where contributors 'all share a deep concern about the way climate change is unfolding in the Arctic and the threat that this poses for the world at large.' His Facebook profile says he was employed from 2008 to 2010 by now-defunct KD Air, a small airline based on Vancouver Island. The airline's former owners, Diana and Lars Banke, said in an interview Wednesday that Cassim was one of the smartest and best pilots they ever worked with, calling him a fast learner who was highly intelligent. But Lars Banke said Cassim left the airline after getting 'bored' and then went to medical school. He also said Cassim believed the world was coming to an end. Diana Banke said she was 'very surprised' to hear of Cassim's charges, saying he was quite young when he worked for them and was 'like a kid.' Lars Banke said he recalled that Cassim was somewhat interested in environmentalism, but he was unaware of any kind of religious beliefs. 'He never spoke religion with us,' Diana Banke said. 'I'm really surprised that he would've done something like this,' she added. In 2012, Cassim held a news conference before going on a cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness for global warming. British Columbia Premier David Eby said when asked about the incident Thursday that it was a 'bizarre moment,' and the fact that it ended without a more significant disruption at the airport is a 'testament' to the skill of responders who talked the suspect down.
