’This guy is a hero’
Alone and staring down a man who allegedly used a van to kill 10 people, a Toronto police officer didn’t flinch. Instead, he rushed toward the suspect, who claimed to have a gun, and made the arrest without firing a single shot.
“This guy is a hero,” said Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association.
The officer was the first on the scene, McCormack said, and was out on patrol when he heard calls go out about the attack, which injured another 15 people.
Multiple videos posted to social media appear to show the harrowing scene, from the moment the suspect exits his van to the moment he is put in handcuffs. Police identified the suspect as Alek Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, Ont. Minassian has not been charged with a crime and police said the incident was not connected to national security.
After pulling up beside the white rental van, the officer crouches and keeps his cruiser between him and the suspect. The suspect, leaving his van parked on the sidewalk, slowly begins to approach the officer, extending his arm while appearing to point something at him. At a press conference, Chief Mark Saunders confirmed that the suspect was not pointing a gun.
The suspect, standing upright and wearing a black coat and black pants, appears to rapidly reach into his pocket multiple times and then point something at the officer. Unfazed, the officer demands that he “get down.” The officer repeats those words another 13 times.
“Come on, get down!” he yells at the suspect.
“Kill me,” the man says. “No, get down!” the officer says.
“I have a gun in my pocket,” the suspect says.
“I don’t care,” the officer answers. “Get down!”
After telling the officer to “shoot me in the head,” the suspect inches toward him for the first time. The officer continues to back off, moving to his left as the suspect narrows the distance between them. Unexpectedly, the officer charges at the suspect. Apparently taken by surprise, the man backs off, raises his hands and drops the object that he was pointing in his outstretched arm.
After three more shouts of “get down,” the suspect throws himself on the ground and puts his hands behind his back. As the officer begins to place the handcuffs around the man’s wrists, his backup finally arrives.