Neighbours of U.S. consulate suspect say newcomers should leave political troubles behind
The bomb scare at Halifax’s U.S. consulate that shut down much of the city’s downtown last week had its echoes in Clayton Park, the suburb established in the 1960s that in recent years has been a magnet for the port city’s burgeoning population of immigrants.
As downtown was swarmed by police, including bomb experts who found potentially explosive items in a car outside the consulate, the investigation took Halifax police to the quiet cul-de-sac home of the man charged in the episode.
Although no alleged motive has been discussed, the suspect is from Iran, where the Islamic Regime is fighting a war with the United States.
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Days later, neighbours told a visiting reporter that the family was new to the area. They also said newcomers should leave their political troubles behind when they come to Canada.
“Everyone has their opinion, but it should not impact others’ lives,” said Ashok Kumar, who lives near the suspect and his family.
“If you’ve got an opportunity to come to a developed nation, you should do your job and feed the family, pay taxes and follow the rules … Why do you want to take all the baggage here and dump it?”
The suspect’s legal aid lawyer confirmed his client is Iranian, but could not confirm reports that he came to Canada in 2024.
Kumar, who came to Canada from India nine years ago and became a Canadian citizen in 2023, cautioned against painting all immigrants with the same brush. “It should not be generalized.”
The father of two young children isn’t particularly worried about safety in the neighbourhood.
“When somebody already informs the authorities that ‘I am doing this,’ to me it looks like they just want to get caught or give a message,” said the registered nurse.
“It’s definitely different than a school shooting or something like that, which is really scary.”
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on nationalpost.com — the content belongs to National Post.
