Although Aaron Driver had been under scrutiny in Canada as a terrorist sympathizer for nearly two years, it took a tip from the FBI to alert intelligence officials there to an imminent attack Driver was planning on a major Canadian city, reports Reuter. Driver, 24, was killed this week after he detonated an explosive device in the backseat of a taxi as police closed in and opened fire. Driver, one of only two Canadians currently subject to a “peace bond,” or a court order of lawfulness, was not under constant surveillance before the tip from the FBI came on Wednesday morning.
Phil Gurski, a former Canadian Security Intelligence Service analyst, said it takes about 20 to 40 officers in multiple surveillance teams to watch a suspect. “It is not like Hollywood films where it is one car following one guy,” said Gurski. “So you have to start prioritizing.” Driver first came to the attention of Canadian officials in late 2014 after he voiced support for Islamic State on social media. In 2015, the Muslim convert was arrested for communicating with militants involved with attack plots in Texas and Australia. Early this year, he agreed to the court order restricting his online and cell phone use.