No ‘evidence to support’ hate crime charge in Edmonton Sikh temple screwdriver stabbing, police say
Posted September 10, 2026 8:11 am.
Last Updated September 10, 2026 1:46 pm.
Edmonton police say the man accused of stabbing of two worshippers at a Sikh temple in the city’s northeast last month is not facing hate crime charges “right now.”
Austin Sim-Pelletier, a man with a lengthy criminal record, is accused of entering the Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple with a screwdriver on Aug. 21, a day after leaving prison, and stabbing two men.
Sim-Pelletier, 27, was charged last Friday with two counts of assault causing bodily harm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and mischief. Edmonton police were investigating whether the attack was a hate crime.
“The evidence we’ve obtained so far in this investigation does not support those charges at this time,” EPS Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart told a press conference Thursday. “This investigation is still ongoing. We are still collecting evidence, and we’re still working through it. But currently, this time, there wasn’t the evidence to support those charges.
“There’s nothing currently right now that we would statute this as a hate crime.”
A court check shows Sim-Pelletier was in prison for aggravated assault and assault on a peace officer. Edmonton police have described him as having a history of violence.
He was released from a federal prison outside of Edmonton on the day before the stabbing at the Gurdwara. Authorities have not revealed the name or location of that facility. A warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to report to a halfway house and contact a parole officer.
Sgt. Stewart says he does not know how the accused made his way to the temple on the northeastern outskirts of Edmonton. He was allegedly acting strange in the middle of the highway shortly before entering the temple.
“How he got from Edmonton out there is still part of the ongoing investigation,” said Stewart, who added “nothing in the investigation” suggests he had ever been there before.
Zora Grewal, the temple’s vice-president, said witnesses told him the suspect, for unknown reasons, entered the temple, and when those inside tried to escort him out, he lashed out with the screwdriver. Others then wrestled him to the ground and police were called.
Sim-Pelletier is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 18. The allegations against him have not been tested in court.
