“There is no dispute that Mr. Shafiei has struggled with mental health and substance abuse difficulties. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementHe told the investigator that the box cutter incident started with a store employee following him around. Shafiei stated that he confronted the employee, claiming that the employee was discriminating against him, at which point the employee called a manager. Mr. Shafiei stated that the manager accused Mr. Shafiei of holding a weapon, referring to the box cutter. Mr. Shafiei appeared to deny holding the box cutter as a weapon and blamed the store for leaving the box cutter out,” said the decision.

Source: National Post January 15, 2026 17:29 UTC