Ontario man with violent history granted day passes despite being deemed 'significant threat'

A Hamilton man with a decade-long history of violent attacks has been granted limited community access despite being formally assessed as posing a "significant threat to the safety of the public." Muneeb Ali Ghawar, a 31-year-old diagnosed with schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder currently in remission within a controlled environment, was found not criminally responsible (NCR) in February 2024 for his second stabbing incident involving aggravated assault and wearing a disguise during the commission of an offense.

The violent attacks and criminal proceedings

Ghawar's most recent violent offense occurred on February 3, 2023, when he entered Sweet Releaf Cannabis in Hamilton around midday wearing conspicuous concealment - a mask and trapper hat pulled down low. According to the detailed Ontario Review Board (ORB) decision, after requesting cannabis products, Ghawar positioned himself behind the female clerk who moved to ring up his purchase. In a sudden violent outburst, he produced a knife and stabbed her seven times in the back, inflicting life-threatening injuries including a severed bicep and collapsed lung among other serious wounds. The attack only ceased when another employee screamed and attempted to call emergency services, prompting Ghawar to flee the scene.

Hamilton police detectives later identified Ghawar through surveillance footage from his previous visit to the same cannabis retail operation when he wasn't wearing facial concealment. This investigative breakthrough led to his arrest six days after the brutal stabbing. The February 2024 ORB ruling marked Ghawar's second designation as not criminally responsible due to mental disorder, with his first NCR finding occurring after a strikingly similar 2014 attack where he stabbed an acquaintance five times in the back and torso during a period of untreated psychosis.

Mental health history and treatment compliance

Ghawar's extensive psychiatric records reveal a troubling pattern of medication non-compliance directly preceding violent psychotic episodes. His hospital report indicates he began receiving treatment from a psychiatrist for anxiety and depression in 2012. However, in April 2014 - just weeks before his first violent attack - Ghawar stopped taking his prescribed antipsychotic medication, with his mental health symptoms deteriorating rapidly according to family observations. His parents reported he became markedly anxious and irritable, refusing to leave the house alone, though they observed no overt signs suggesting imminent violence.

Following his first NCR designation and subsequent hospitalization from 2014-2016, Ghawar demonstrated treatment compliance that led to his discharge to family care and eventual absolute discharge in February 2019. However, this stability proved temporary as he resumed cannabis use in August 2019 while living with his parents, eventually stopping his medication again prior to the 2023 stabbing. A September 2023 psychological assessment conducted after his second offense found Ghawar experiences persistent delusional thought content, including the false belief that his cannabis store victim was "selling bad cannabis to kids in order to draw them into sex trafficking." The assessment concluded he has both limited intellectual abilities and significant neurocognitive impairment likely stemming from his mental illness and chronic substance use.

Supervised release conditions and ongoing risks

The August 2023 ORB hearing resulted in a detention order with carefully structured privileges for Ghawar at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton. While the panel concluded he remains a significant public safety threat requiring continued detention, they approved a graduated privilege system including seven day passes with direct accompaniment by an approved person and seven indirectly supervised day passes requiring pre-approved itineraries. Under indirect supervision protocols, Ghawar must periodically check in with hospital staff while a designated clinical team member maintains awareness of his whereabouts at all times.

Notably, the ORB decision documents multiple instances of Ghawar testing positive for cannabis use in 2025 and 2026, including one occasion where staff detected a strong odor of cannabis emanating from his jacket and discovered suspected cannabis in his pocket. Ghawar consistently denied intentional use, offering increasingly implausible explanations including secondhand smoke exposure and claims that someone must have planted the substances on his person. These documented incidents occurred despite Ghawar's cannabis use disorder being officially classified as "in remission in a controlled environment" in his medical records.

Family dynamics and cultural considerations

Ghawar maintains regular contact with his parents, who have expressed interest in taking him to Pakistan for an arranged marriage to a woman he has never met. His treating psychiatrist raised significant concerns about this proposal, noting that introducing a new family member through marriage would likely increase household stress during Ghawar's ongoing struggles with treatment compliance and substance use. The ORB decision emphasizes that Ghawar was residing with his parents during both violent attacks in 2014 and 2023, raising questions about their capacity to recognize warning signs or enforce treatment protocols.

Medical professionals have documented Ghawar's "limited insight" into multiple critical areas including his psychotic symptoms, the necessity of consistent treatment, the detrimental effects of cannabis use on his mental state, and his demonstrated risk for violent behavior. This lack of awareness persists despite his documented periods of stability when properly medicated, during which staff describe him as pleasant, polite, and appropriately engaged with both peers and caregivers.

Systemic implications and public safety considerations

Ghawar's case represents a challenging intersection of mental health treatment, substance abuse issues, and public safety within Canada's forensic psychiatric system. His repeated pattern of stopping medication, resuming cannabis use, and subsequently experiencing violent psychotic breaks underscores the complexities of managing high-risk NCR patients in community settings. The ORB's decision to grant limited supervised community access while maintaining his "significant threat" designation reflects the tension between therapeutic goals and risk mitigation.

Forensic psychiatric experts emphasize that Ghawar's persistent cannabis use constitutes a major risk factor, as toxicology reports confirm he was using the drug during both violent offenses. The ORB ruling explicitly states these attacks "could have resulted in the death of either victim," highlighting the potentially fatal consequences of treatment non-compliance in similar cases. This situation continues to evolve as clinicians balance Ghawar's current stability with his documented history of rapid deterioration when unsupervised, presenting ongoing challenges for mental health professionals, legal authorities, and community safety planners alike.