Police officially identify 10 victims of van attack
Homicide squad has interviewed more than 100 witnesses and gathered photo/video evidence
Eight women. Two men. The youngest was just 22 years old, the oldest 94. Most were from Toronto or surrounding area, two were foreign nationals.
All were simply going about their days Monday just before 1:30 p.m. when a rented white Ryder van came barrelling down the sidewalk on Yonge St. south of Finch, ending their lives.
Five days after accused murderer Alek Minassian allegedly commandeered the van with lethal force, Toronto police and Ontario’s chief coroner released the names of those killed, following a careful and time-consuming process of identification.
The victims were: Renuka Amarasingha, 45; Geraldine Brady, 83; Andrea Bradden, 33; Sohe Chung, 22; Anne Marie D’Amico, 30; Betty Forsyth, 94; Chul Min “Eddie” Kang, 45; Ji-Hun Kim, 22; Munir Najjar, 85; and Dorothy Sewell, 80. Identifying the bodies had been the prime task since Monday’s rampage. Coroners used scientific means such as dental records to ensure they were 100per-cent correct in their identification, Dr. Dirk Huyer, chief coroner for Ontario, told reporters Friday.
Minassian, 25, is facing 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder. Three more charges of attempted murder are pending, after the police discovered new injured victims not originally counted, including a 21year-old male and a 67-year-old female.
Insp. Bryan Bott, head of the Toronto police homicide squad, said more than 100 witnesses have been interviewed and reams of photo and video evidence had come in.
As they review video evidence, investigators will examine whether it appears as though Minassian was deliberately targeting women. Although police have said there is no evidence of that, eight out of the 10 killed were women.
Police have not released any information about possible motive, but are probing the “cryptic” Facebook message attributed to Minassian moments before he allegedly began striking pedestrians.
In that post, Minassian references “incel,” which refers to an online community of the “involuntarily celibate.” This includes men who feel frustrated by their inability to find romantic relationships or sex, and these forums often feature misogynistic rhetoric. The post also mentions Elliot Rodger, a 22-yearold California man who killed six people in 2014 shortly after posting a video ranting about his sexual frustration and the women who rejected him.
Bott said Friday that the RCMP was helping with the search of Minassian’s online activity, and said “all avenues” will be explored, including any possible link to the “incel” community.
Two were foreign nationals — Najjar was from Jordan visiting family; Kim was a student from Korea. Bradden was from Woodbridge. The remaining seven were from Toronto.