VICTIMS OF VAN ATTACK FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE
Achemistry lecturer who previously taught in Iran. A grandmother who loved sports. A spirited investment firm employee who had been a volunteer at big tennis tournaments since she was 12. A Jordanian national visiting his son.
As police tried Tuesday to understand why Alek Minassian allegedly used a rental van to mow down pedestrians along a one-kilometre stretch of a busy Toronto street, a partial portrait emerged of the 24 dead and injured victims who were left bleeding on the pavement.
Living up to Toronto’s reputation as one of the most diverse cities in the world, the victims — ranging in age from their 20s to their 80s, police said — came from all walks of life.
Anne Marie D’Amico was the first among the 10 killed to be publicly named. An employee of U.S.-based investment management firm Invesco Canada, which has offices on Yonge Street close to where Monday’s carnage unfolded, D’Amico was a “star” to those who knew her — a kind, gentle and tireless volunteer with Toronto’s tennis community.
In a statement to CBC News, the D’Amico family said Anne Marie had “a generous heart” and always helped people.
“She wouldn’t stop until she went the extra mile for others ... She genuinely wanted to care for all those around her even if it meant sacrificing a portion of herself in return for others’ happiness.”
At a special council meeting Tuesday, an emotional Toronto city councillor Cesar Palacio, who knows the D’Amico family, said Anne Marie’s father, Rocco, told him “he’s living the worst nightmare ever of his life.” D’Amico, who had studied at Ryerson University, had been a longtime volunteer with the Rogers Cup tennis tournament. She was voted volunteer of the year in 2016. “We are honoured to let the world know what an amazing person she was,” Gavin Ziv, vice-president of professional events at Tennis Canada, said in a statement. D’Amico also volunteered with the youth charity Live Different on two humanitarian field trips to the Dominican Republic. She embodied the definition of altruism, her family said in its statement.
“It comforts us knowing that the world has a chance to know her and we hope that in this time, people fight with the same altruism rather than anger and hatred.” Tuesday evening, Dorothy Sewell, a grandmother, was also identified as among the dead, according to the CBC. “I love you Dorothy Sewell,” her grandson, Elwood Delaney, wrote in a Facebook Post. “You will always be loved and your love for sports will always be with me while I cheer with you.” Co-workers identified Chul Min (Eddie) Kang, a chef at Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse, which is located in the area of Adelaide and Duncan streets, as among the dead.
In a statement, the restaurant said Kang’s death brings the company “great sadness.” The identities of the other fatalities remained unknown, but an official with the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Toronto confirmed through a translator that two South Korean nationals were among the dead and that one other was injured.
Jungho Jung, the translator, said consular staff were still trying to reach family members of the victims. Meanwhile, officials at the Embassy of Jordan in Ottawa confirmed that one of its citizens was killed but had no other information to provide. He was identified by Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency as Munair Najjar, who was in Toronto visiting family.
Seneca College, where the suspect had been a student, announced that one of its students, a female, was killed in Monday’s carnage. “She was, along with nine others, an innocent victim of this tragic act of violence,” David Agnew, the school’s president, said in a note to students and employees. At a press conference Tuesday, Ontario Chief Coroner Dirk Huyer said his office has “not confirmed any identifications at this point.” Huyer said he sympathized with family and friends who were anxious to know the identities of those who had died, but said the office wants to ensure that things are done accurately. “That takes time,” he said. Huyer confirmed that tentative death notifications have been made to family members but his office wants to conduct dental, fingerprint or DNA comparisons before confirming the victims’ identities.
This approach is necessary given the complexity of the case and the severity of injuries, he said. “We want to be careful we don’t have any confusion,” he said. Court documents named 13 survivors as attempted murder victims. They are Robert Anderson, Sammantha Samson, Samantha Peart, Morgan McDougall, Mavis Justino, Catherine Riddell, Aleksandra Kozhevinikova, Amir Kiumarsi, Yunsheng Tian, Jun Seok Park, Amaresh Tesfamariam, So Ra and Beverly Smith. A 14th attempted murder charge was expected, police said.
Among the most seriously injured was Tesfamariam. She was in critical condition with spinal damage, according to a Go Fund Me page created by Menab Tesfu, who identified himself as her nephew, and a Facebook post by Liah Tesfamariam, who identified herself as her niece. Tesfu described his Auntie Amaresh as “almost like a second mom my whole life.” He said she lived alone and would not be able to work due to her injuries. Kiumarsi was in the intensive care unit at Sunnybrook, according to an email from CUPE 3904 president Joseph Zbloralski to colleagues. Kiumarsi has been a chemistry lecturer at Ryerson University since 2012. He had taught chemistry in Tehran for 10 years previously. Justino, a property manager, was recovering at home Tuesday. She suffered multiple broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and has stitches in her arm and the back of her head.
“I have a long healing process, but I made it out alive, feeling very thankful to be here today,” she posted on her Facebook page. Samson was a co-worker of D’Amico’s at Invesco. They also roomed together on a Live Different trip to the Dominican Republic in November 2015. Her condition was not known. McDougall was released from hospital Monday night. A welder by trade from Northern Ontario, he relocated to Toronto a few years ago to study business and entrepreneurship at Seneca College.
He spent Tuesday on the phone reassuring relatives. He had been cut and had hurt his hand but was healing, and by late afternoon he was tired and hungry and in need of some rest.