Radicalized driver killed

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Conservative MP Randy Hoback is shown on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday July 12 2012. Quebec provincial police say a motorist struck two members of the Canadian Forces with his car, an incident Hoback cited in the House of Commons as a ``possible terror attack.''THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

A man who died from police gunfire after he struck two members of the Canadian Forces with his car had "become radicalized," the Prime Minister's Office said Monday.

"The individual who struck the two CAF members with his car is known to federal authorities, including the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team," said a statement from Jason MacDonald, Stephen Harper's communications director.

"Federal authorities have confirmed that there are clear indications that the individual had become radicalized."

Harper was briefed on the incident Monday afternoon by RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson; Tom Lawson, the country's top military commander; and national security advisor Stephen Rigby.

Earlier in the day, Quebec provincial police said the motorist died from gunshot wounds and that he had hit two members of the Canadian Forces with his car in an incident one MP cited in the Commons as a "possible terror attack."

Lt. Michel Brunet said the 25-year-old in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, southeast of Montreal, was known to authorities.

One of the two people hit was listed in critical condition, while the other's injuries were described as less serious.

News of the incident surfaced in the Commons when Conservative MP Randy Hoback asked Harper to update the House about "unconfirmed reports of a possible terror attack" against two members of the Canadian Forces.

Harper said he was aware of the reports and called them "extremely troubling."

"First and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families; we're closely monitoring the situation and obviously we will make available all of the resources of the federal government," he told the House.

Provincial police spokesman Joyce Kemp said it was "really premature" to speculate on any possible motives.

"We've just started the investigation, so it will take a certain time before we can say it was something accidental or deliberate," Kemp said in an interview.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair also said he believed the government's immediate analysis to be premature.

"I think we need to be extremely careful before drawing conclusions. When (the Hoback question was asked), I said to myself, 'Come on, let the police do their work'," he told a news conference in Ottawa.

Provincial police spokeman Guy Lapointe said the shooting occurred after the man hit the two pedestrians in the parking lot of a shopping mall and took off.

That triggered a chase that ended with the man losing control and his car rolling over several times.

Police would not confirm several media reports the man was brandishing a knife when he emerged from the car.

"I can confirm to you that the two people who were struck by the car were members of the Canadian Forces," Lapointe told a news conference.