Security guard facing six charges after shooting and fire at Edmonton City Hall

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A 28-year-old security guard is facing six charges related to arson, explosives and discharging of a firearm after a shooting and fire at Edmonton City Hall on Tuesday morning.

Bezhani Sarvar is slated to appear in court in Edmonton on Thursday for a bail hearing. No one was injured in the shooting.

“It had such potential to be something much more horrific,” said Heather Klimchuk, a former MLA who was in a meeting at City Hall when the shooting started. “But people did their jobs. We were in good hands.”

A statement released by the Commissionaires Northern Alberta Division on Wednesday confirmed that both the alleged shooter and the unarmed guard who initially apprehended him were employees of the Corps of Commissionaires, a non-profit security company that employs military and police veterans, former RCMP officers and civilians.

The statement said the accused shooter has been a Commissionaire since 2019 and had worked at a number of locations in the city, but was never assigned to security at City Hall.

The Commissionaire who detained the shooter has not been publicly identified but is a military veteran who served as an infantry soldier for seven years and has been a Commissionaire since February, the statement said.

“We are very proud of him and thank him for taking such bold and brave action to protect the public.”

The shooting began around 10:20 a.m. Tuesday, as a number of meetings were taking place in the building, and a Grade 1 class was on a tour.

Edmonton police say the accused entered through the parking garage, lit several incendiary devices believed to be Molotov cocktails, and fired several shots into the walls, windows and ceiling. There are metal detectors outside the River Valley Room where Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and council were in a committee meeting, but City Hall is otherwise freely accessible to the public.

A surveillance video obtained by Global News shows a man in a black security uniform and badge carrying a large gun and moving erratically through a hallway, pointing the gun wildly around him. Toward the end of the video, the man drops to his knees and tosses the gun aside, then removes his coat and walks away, leaving the firearm on the floor.

Police said the suspect then surrendered to the unarmed guard and was detained until police arrived minutes later.

Police Chief Dale McFee has said the suspect acted alone, and that there are no further concerns for public safety.

Mr. Sarvar is charged with arson with disregard for human life, possession of incendiary material, use of a firearm while committing an offence, careless use of a firearm, using an explosive with an intent to destroy or damage property, and discharging a firearm into a place.

Ms. Klimchuk said she initially thought the series of banging sounds she heard were from ice falling off the roof, then realized, “‘Those are gunshots.’”

She said the fire alarm went off, and she and others in the meeting she was in immediately evacuated the building out a back door. Ms. Klimchuk’s daughter works at City Hall, and she says they had an emotional reunion once they were both safely away from the scene.

“I just think of people who have gone through far worse than what we experienced. But nonetheless, it still is very jarring,” she said, adding she’s concerned for staff who were in the building longer.

Mr. Sohi has described the shooting as shocking and traumatic. He told podcast host Ryan Jespersen there will be a review of security at City Hall, and that the balance will be creating a safe environment for people who work and go to the building, while still keeping it a place that’s part of the community.

“We will rely on professionals to give us guidance how we can strike that balance, but it is very important that City Hall remains an open, accessible space for everyone to come in,” he said.

Ms. Klimchuk said she appreciates that City Hall is an open civic space, and recalled dealing with threats to security when she was an MLA.

“The challenge will be moving forward, what do they need to do to make sure that staff and everyone there are protected? Because there’s so many people going in and out,” she said. “I think it’s an opportunity for them to revisit some things, but then I think at the end of the day, we want to make sure we keep it open to the public because it’s for the people.”