Toronto van attacker says not mentally ill at time of crash

TORONTO — The Toronto van attacker said that if he is “to be honest,” he does not believe he was mentally ill when he purposely drove a rented van down a busy sidewalk, killing 10 people and injuring 16 others.

Alek Minassian’s shocking admission was made to a psychiatrist a year before his trial for mass murder, at which he pleaded not guilty, claiming his autism makes him not criminally responsible because his lack of empathy robbed him of knowing it was wrong.

Minassian said he expects to be in prison or a mental facility for years to come — no matter what happens with his trial.

At trial, Thursday, a psychiatrist called to the stand by Crown prosecutors described Minassian as a “mass murderer who happens to have autism” rather than a man whose autism drove him to mass murder.

Dr. Scott Woodside, both a lawyer and medical doctor who works as a forensic psychiatrist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, interviewed Minassian five times, encompassing almost 12 hours, in October and November 2019, in order to assess his mental status.

Woodside asked Minassian if he had any long-term plans.

“I’m probably going to be in prison 10 years from now. Even if I was in a mental institution, I will still be there also. I doubt I will be released,” Minassian told him during an interview.

Woodside testified that Minassian acknowledged the terrible nature of what he did, describing it as “despicable.”