A Canadian terrorist who burst into a military recruitment service and stabbed soldiers has been given permission to fly to Saudi Arabia and Somalia - even though officials say he 'continues to pose a significant threat to public safety.'

Ayanle Hassan Ali, 38, entered the Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre in Toronto in March 2016, and immediately attacked the corporal who was seated at the entrance, repeatedly punching him in the head and using a kitchen knife to slash and stab at the soldier. He then fought off other soldiers who tried to take him down.

'Allah told me to do this,' he reportedly told officers at the scene. 'Allah told me to come here and kill people.' 

But in May 2018, Ali was found not criminally responsible on three counts of attempted murder, as well as two counts of assault causing bodily harm, two counts of assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose due to his schizophrenia diagnosis.

Now, he is planning to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca with his father and meet a potential bride his dad found for him in Somalia on a three-week long trip, the National Post reports. 

The Ontario Review Board heard earlier this month how Ali, who is Muslim, wants to travel abroad 'to facilitate a meeting with a woman as his father has been working on arranging a possible marriage with a woman who resides in Somalia.

'Mr. Ali has advised that this is not uncommon in his culture and the marriage would only proceed if both parties were agreeable,' the Review Board said in its April 15 decision allowing Ali to make the trip.

'He is hopeful he will be able to travel to Somalia over the upcoming reporting year for an introductory meeting with the woman.' 

Prior to making the decision allowing Ali to travel abroad, the Review Board heard from Ali's doctors.

They testified that his 'faith and religious beliefs continue to be very important to him, and he attends his mosque weekly and he prays five times a day.

'He and his father have planned for a religious ritual of Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia,' the doctors told the independent tribunal that reviews the status of individuals found not criminally responsible to crimes due to a mental disorder.

'Mr. Ali is studying to memorize the Quran and attends the mosque by his father's house daily to meet with his teacher,' they continued. 'He is hopeful that his tutor may assist him in securing a volunteer position at a local school to tutor in math or French.'

But the tribunal also heard about Ali's criminal past.

On March 14, 2016, Ali 'entered the Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre in Toronto and immediately attacked the corporal who was seated at the entrance,' the board wrote in its decision.

'Mr. Ali repeatedly punched the corporal in the head and took a large kitchen knife from a folder he was carrying and lunged at the corporal, slashing and stabbing him with the knife, causing a three-inch gash to the corporal's arm,' it said.

At that point, a petty officer picked up a chair to try to shield himself from Ali's attacks and force him away from the corporal. 

But Ali just seemed to change his attention to a sergeant, whom he began chasing as he swung his knife at her, barely missing her neck.

He then 'encountered another sergeant who had slipped and fallen int he chaos.'

'Mr. Ali was observed to slash and stab the sergeant several times in the upper torso and head while he was on the ground (a witness stated that the tip of the knife was facing the ceiling at this time).'

Ali was 'ultimately cornered,' at which point staff members threw items at the terrorist and tackled him in attempts to disarm him even as he 'continued to come at staff with the knife.'

Eventually, numerous military personnel were able to pin Ali to the ground and get control of his knife.

Officers then noticed that Ali's iPod was open to a file on the Quran Chapter Two and 'Mr. Ali was heard muttering a prayer as attempts were made to subdue him.'

'Ali was then stripped of his clothing down to his underwear to ensure he had no secondary device on his person,' the tribunal's decision reads. 'None was found.'

'The whole attack lasted less than one minute,' the review board noted, adding that Ali 'was described as running around in a frantic manner.' 

As the investigation into the stabbing spree continued, Ali's family 'reported that he had been symptomatic for some time' prior to the stabbing attack.

'According to the hospital report, it appeared that as a teenager, he experienced obsessions and compulsions and had difficulty concentrating in school,' the tribunal's report says.

'He began to hear voices, had ideas of reference and was consistently concerned about the government watching him.

'He no longer spent time with friends, did not leave the house and spent long periods of time alone in his room staring at the wall. He threw out almost everything from his room including his mattress and spent hours copying books.'

Following the not criminally responsible ruling, Ali was detained at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton from 2018 through 2023, where authorities said he was 'compliant with medications and was described as a "model patient."

'Some residual symptoms were noted, including delusional thought content where he felt he was being monitored by the government,' the ruling said. 'He was described as having fluctuating symptoms and partial insight.'

By March 2023, the Ontario Review Board ordered Ali to be transferred to Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and he was discharged to live with his father in the community in June of that year.

'At that time, he was treated with a long-acting injectable of antipsychotic medication,' the tribunal said. 

Two years later, in March 2025, Ali moved in with his mother who herself 'has a history of untreated schizophrenia.'

Still, psychiatrists testified that Ali 'had a positive year in the community.'

'He continued to reside at his mother's house with his sister and remained close with all of his family members,' they said.

But in February, Ali asked to change his prescription to daily medication for his schizophrenia, claiming that the injections were too painful.

He then advised his psychiatrist 'he was confident that he could be disciplined in his medication compliance, as he would coordinate his medication adherence with his ritual of rising for prayers daily.'

Since switching to the oral medication, the psychiatrist said Ali has been much happier.

'No changes in his mental state have been observed since his transition to oral medication, however, the doctor cautioned that these are early days,' the tribunal wrote in its decision.

At the same time, it noted that Ali continues to experience 'intermittent low-grade paranoid ideation and/or fleeting persecutory thoughts and concerns.

'The Hospital Report indicates, "These symptoms have appeared to decrease over the past reporting year, being shorter in duration and of less influence upon him.

'While these thoughts have been delusional in nature, he was able to reflect on them and manage his symptoms with insight,' the board noted. 

In the end, a lawyer for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health testified that 'Ali continued to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition was a continuation of the existing conditional discharge, save and except for the addition of a discretionary travel pass for up to three weeks on an itinerary approved by the [person in charge] to allow for travel to Saudi Arabia and onto Somalia, accompanied by an approved person.'

The Hospital Report also concluded that 'the final risk judgment is of a low risk of violence under the continuation of a conditional discharge.

'Risk would rise to moderate to high if he were granted an absolute discharge, given uncertainty with change to oral medication and the final steps to occupational and social reintegration hurdles which are of great importance to him,' the report says, according to the National Post.

'Although frequency of violent behavior is likely low, re-emergence of psychotic symptoms could result in an increasing risk of serious violence.' 

Yet the government ultimately decided to let Ali take the three-week trip, writing that 'Ali recognizes that he has a major mental illness that requires treatment with medication and he understands the importance of compliance.

'He is able to assess and reality-test the mild breakthrough psychotic symptoms that he occasionally experiences,' the Review Board said, noting that he has also 'expressed remorse' for 'the harm he caused' to the soldiers he attacked at the recruiting center.

'His regret has reinforced his commitment to ongoing treatment and maintaining his well-being, as he is determined not to repeat such violent behaviors.'