Canadian police charged a Somali refugee with five counts of attempted murder on Sunday after they said he stabbed a police officer and ran down several pedestrians with a vehicle in Edmonton, Alberta, in what officials called an act of terrorism.

At around 8:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, an Edmonton police officer was working traffic control duties at a Canadian Football League game, CNBC reports.

At that time, a male driving a white Chevrolet Malibu crashed through the traffic barricades that were separating vehicles from pedestrians at high speed. The officer was hit and went flying 15 feet through the air, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said in a statement.

A male, believed to be 30 years of age, got out of his vehicle and began stabbing the officer with a knife. The attacker then fled, and the officer was taken to hospital.

Later on Saturday just before midnight, a U Haul truck was pulled over on Wayne Gretzky Drive and 112 Avenue in Edmonton.

The truck driver then immediately fled the scene, but police officers pursued it as the driver deliberately attempted to hit pedestrians. The EPS said four civilians were hit by the truck and taken to hospital with multiple injuries.