Van kills 10, injures 15 on Toronto street; driver in custody
A RENTED van jumped on to a crowded Toronto sidewalk Monday, killing 10 people and injuring 15 before the driver fled and was quickly arrested in a confrontation with police, Canadian authorities said.
Witnesses said the driver was moving fast and appeared to be acting deliberately, but police said they did not yet know the cause or any possible motive. The name of the suspect was not released.
Toronto Police Services Deputy Chief Peter Yuen released no details about the investigation as he announced the number of casualties.
Yuen said police were still interviewing witnesses and examining surveillance video of the incident as part of what he called a “complex” investigation.
“I can assure the public that all our available resources have been brought in to investigate this tragic situation,” he said.
The incident occurred as Cabinet ministers from the major industrial countries were gathered in Canada to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June.
Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale said that it was too soon to say whether the crash was a case of international terrorism and that the government had not raised its terrorism alert.
The driver was heading south on busy Yonge Street around 1:30 p.m. and the streets were crowded with people enjoying an unseasonably warm day when the van jumped onto the sidewalk.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his sympathies for those involved. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected,” Trudeau said in Ottawa. “We are going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours.”