Van attack suspect may have resented women

The suspect in the deadly van attack in Toronto posted a chilling Facebook message just minutes before plowing into a crowded city sidewalk, authorities said Tuesday, raising the possibility he may have nursed grudges against women — a possible echo of a 1989 massacre of 14 women that remains one of Canada’s most traumatic acts of violence.

The 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, was charged Tuesday with firstdegree murder in the deaths of 10 pedestrians he mowed down in the rented van he sent careening along the busy walkway. Fourteen others were injured.

Minassian lived with his family in the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill, on a street of large, well-tended brick homes. Police say he had no criminal record before Monday.

His father, Vahe Minassian, wept and seemed stunned as he watched as his son, showing little emotion, make a brief court appearance Tuesday and be ordered held without bail.

Toronto Police Services Det. Sgt. Graham Gibson told a news conference those killed and injured were “predominantly” women, though he said investigators have not yet determined whether they were targeted for that reason and declined to discuss a possible motive.

“All the lanes are open with this investigation,” Police Chief Mark Saunders said.

Authorities have not yet released a list of victims. Those known to have been killed include a 30-year-old woman from Toronto, Anne Marie D’Amico, who was active in volunteer work, as well as a female student at Seneca College, which Minassian also attended. A Jordanian citizen and two South Koreans were also among those killed.

Nathan Denette / Associated Press Ozra Kenari, center, on Tuesday places flowers as she cries at a memorial for the victims along Yonge Street the day after a driver drove a van down sidewalks, striking pedestrians in his path, in Toronto.