The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced on Wednesday night that police had stopped a terror attack. An ISIS sympathizer was killed during a "dramatic police takedown"  in the town of Strathroy, Ontario.

The suspect, 24-year-old Aaron Driver, was known to authorities, having been arrested last year for supporting the Islamic State on social media.

Authorities say the suspect was planning to carry out a suicide bombing in a public area using a homemade bomb. The RCMP say they had received a "credible information of a potential terrorist threat."

"A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety," said the RCMP. "As this is still an unfolding matter and the investigation is still under way, we are not able to provide further comment at this time."

Police told Driver's family that he had detonated an explosive device, injuring himself and others. He was planning to detonate a second bomb when he was shot by authorities.

Driver, a Muslim convert, came to the authorities' attention in 2014 for tweeting in support of IS, using the alias Harun Abdourahman.

He was taken into custody and interrogated by police in July 2015 over concerns he would become involved in planning an attack.

He was not charged but released on bail and had to wear a GPS ankle bracelet and undergo religious counselling, according to the CBC.

His electronic tracking device was removed earlier this year when he agreed to limit his access to the internet. Driver was not allowed to have a computer or a cell phone, a prohibition that was set to expire in December. But Driver expired first.