Van attack latest shock in ‘long haul’ for Toronto homicide squad

TORONTO — The man in charge of Toronto’s homicide squad was sitting in his office early Monday afternoon when word came in about mass casualties in the city’s north end.

Insp. Bryan Bott swiftly put together a team of 16 homicide detectives who were immediately dispatched to Yonge Street, where a white van had driven into pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 14 others.

When the homicide team arrived on location, they found bodies, shoes and debris scattered along a two-kilometre stretch of road.

But the laborious work for the homicide squad had just begun.

“Usually our guys will work around the clock for 48 hours then they have to get some sleep and we cycle people in and out,” Bott said in an interview Wednesday.

“It’s been a long haul. It’s going to be a long haul.”

The “long haul” for Bott’s team began on Dec. 15, when a billionaire couple — Barry and Honey Sherman — were found dead in their Toronto mansion.

Then another massive homicide investigation was triggered by the arrest of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, a 66-yearold self-employed landscaper accused of murdering eight men — most with ties to the city’s gay village.

“I’ve been with the service for 31 years, and I’ve never seen three cases like this back to back, ever,” said Bott, who in addition to keeping an eye on the highprofile cases, tries to make sure his detectives get enough sleep.

“We’re hanging in there,” he said.

The pressure on the squad was relieved somewhat after Alek Minassian, the alleged van driver now facing 10 first-degree murder charges, was arrested without incident just seven minutes after the first 911 call, said Bott.

The pressure on the Sherman case was unrelenting for months, Bott said, with 16 homicide detectives assigned to the case initially.

Meanwhile, the McArthur investigation is also going full steam ahead, led by Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga.