Toronto massacre driver charged with murder
Officials say Alek Minassian used rented van in attack
TORONTO : The 25-year-old man responsible for one of the worst acts of carnage in Canada has been charged with 10 counts of first degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder after being presented in a Toronto court on Tuesday morning.
Alek Minassian, from a suburb of Toronto, drove the white van that ploughed into pedestrians in a busy business district, causing 10 fatalities and leaving 15 people injured.
While no motive has been established, the Globe and Mail quoted an unnamed classmate of Minassian as saying that he appeared to suffer from “significant social or mental disability”.
Multiple Canadian outlets, including CBC and Globalnews, reported on a possible link to the “incel rebellion”, referring to men who consider themselves involuntary celibates after being rejected by women.
Minassian served in the Canadian Armed Forces for two months last year and was voluntarily released at his own request, Vice News reported.
The incident occurred at 1.30 pm close to the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue, a major business centre with sev- eral office buildings. Over a period of about 20 minutes, the driver steered the van on to the sidewalk, crashing into multiple pedestrians.
The driver was finally confronted by a police officer, who subdued him and placed him under arrest.
In dramatic videos of the confrontation between Minassian and the policeman, the driver is heard shouting “Kill me!” as the officer draws his weapon to get him to surrender. At one point, the driver threatens the officer, saying he has a gun. The standoff ended as the policeman rushed him, sending him to the ground and handcuffing him.
The van he drove was rented from a company called Ryder, which said it was “cooperating fully with authorities”.
Officials believe this was an isolated incident and public safety and emergency preparedness minister Ralph Goodale told media that “on the basis of all available information…there would appear to be no national security connection to this particular incident”. Toronto Police chief Mark Saunder described the rampage as “deliberate” but said Minassian was not known to the police, nor was there any indication he was a member of any terror group.