Toronto ISIS attacker denied parole for threatening to attack again if freed

“If you release me from jail, I will do another terrorist attack, so tell your government to send me back to my country (Syria),” Rehab Dughmosh wrote to her parole officer in February.

Following a review on Thursday, the citation was one of several noted by the Parole Board of Canada in its decision Monday that denied Dughmosh’s bid to be released on parole.

“Given your continued commitment to a terrorist organization, and ongoing indications that you will commit a terrorist attack if released, the board do not consider your risk to re-offend violently is manageable at this time,” the ruling read.

Dughmosh was sentenced to seven years last year for carrying out the Canadian Tire attack at Cedarbrae Mall in Scarborough in ISIS’s name and attempting to join the terrorist organization. She became eligible for full parole on Aug. 7.

The parole board chronicled a list of concerns, stemming from her allegedly ongoing support of ISIS.

Dughmosh had branded a terrorist flag image in her cell, asked the imam for radical literature, and confronted another Muslim offender for not wearing a hijab, the board wrote.

The decision found that releasing Dughmosh would pose a risk to society.

“You have threatened to kill or maim inmates you deem to be in conflict with your ideologies, and have threatened to burn down your living unit with no regard to human life," the board wrote.

The board also called attention to a psychological risk assessment last month that detailed “ongoing concerns,” including “advocating for the death of infidels, having a desire for retribution,” and “seeking martyrdom."

Justice Maureen Forestell purported that Dughmosh’s mental illness, which was likely related to schizophrenia, had “rendered her vulnerable” to extremist beliefs and played a key role in her violent behavior.

Dughmosh's security classification was increased to maximum in November and her reintegration potential was also rated low, the board added. She has also accumulated institutional charges for disobeying rules, engaging in fights, assaults, and threats.

“You have no pro-social associates, lack employment prospects and financial resources, your motivation for further intervention is low, and you continue to believe it is acceptable to use violence as a method of achieving your goals,” the board members explained.

According to an Agreed Statement of Facts, the Syrian-born former dental nurse and science teacher had left Toronto in 2016, intending to join ISIS in Syria. However, her brother tipped off the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She was turned back by Turkish authorities at the Istanbul airport.

The RCMP had questioned her upon her return to Toronto, but she claimed that she was travelling to Syria to visit family. The police decided not to charge her and closed their file.

In 2017, she started to plan the infamous attack in Toronto and began to stockpile weapons, including a compound bow and arrows and handmade handles with protruding screws.

Dughmosh had created an ISIS banner with black spray paint. Later that year, she set off to conduct her attack, concealing the archery bow and an eight-inch butcher’s knife under her robe.

Walking into the Canadian Tire, Dughmosh approached an employee in the sporting goods section for a set of arrows but was denied.

Dughmosh then collected tools such as a hammer and a golf club while weaving through the aisles. She took out her painted ISIS banner and tied a black bandanna that sported the ISIS symbol.

Drawing her bow, she charged at employees in the paint section, shouting “Allahu Akhbar” and “This is for ISIS.” She then held the knife and swung the golf club at one worker. Staff eventually wrestled her to the ground.

“I’m coming to kill you,” she told the employees restraining her until police arrived on the scene. “Yes, when you kill Muslims you have to pay for it from your blood…You’re killing ISIS, I’m from ISIS.” No one was seriously injured.

During questioning the next day, she told the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team that she was satisfied about the attack but was disappointed nobody was hurt.

“She said the people at Canadian Tire are not Muslims, and the Quran instructs us to kill every non-Muslim kuffar until they convert or submit to the Islamic State,” according to the six-page statement of facts.

The police searched Dughmosh's residence, turning up a handwritten will that read: “As long as there is disbelief and Islam on Earth, so jihad will exist and his sword will not be sheathed until … Allah cleanses the Earth of them and their disbelief.”