Daily Times

Ten people were killed and 15 others injured as a driver deliberately plowed his rental van into pedestrians at a sidewalk in Toronto on Monday afternoon.

Due to lunch time and first warm and sunny Monday, comparatively large number of people thronged the sidewalk. According to police, roughly a mile-long stretch was affected as the rashly driven van kept on moving towards the wrong direction.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders identified the suspect as Alek Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, who he said had not previously been known to authorities. Police, who quickly arrested Minassian, do not know his motives so far. “The actions definitely looked deliberate,” Saunders told a late-night news conference close to the site of the incident in the northern section of Canada’s biggest city. The brutal incident is one of the most violent in recent Canadian history.

The carnage in North York area of Toronto along Yonge Street south of Finch Ave., lasted for 26 minutes, from the first alarm to the arrest of the suspect. Even as first responders rushed to the scene, a wave of shock and fear cascaded onto social media.

The attacker, who will appear in court on Tuesday morning, appeared to be pleading for his own death during a dramatic police takedown captured on video mere minutes after the attack. The suspect was heard to shout, “shoot me in the head.”

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Minassian’s name did not trigger any red flags relating to terrorism. Goodale described the incident as a ‘horrific attack’ in a tweet offering praise to the Toronto police and condolences to the victims and their families. “This incident that happened here on the street behind us was horrendous but it does not appear to be connected in any way to national security,” Goodale told reporters.

Police secured the scene and subway service was halted on the northern stations of the Yonge line.

Mayor John Tory and Deputy Chief Peter Yuen held a press briefing at Earl Haig Secondary School but took no questions about the incident. “I want to assure people that the city is in safe hands at the moment,” Tory said. “These are not the kind of things we expect to happen in this city. We hope they don’t happen anywhere in the world, but we especially don’t expect them to happen in Toronto. But things are as they are.”

In a statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked “the first responders at the scene who managed this extremely difficult situation with courage and professionalism. They faced danger without hesitation, and their efforts no doubt saved lives and prevented further injuries.”

“We should all feel safe walking in our cities and communities. We are monitoring this situation closely, and will continue working with our law enforcement partners around the country to ensure the safety and security of all Canadians.”

In his early morning statement on Tuesday, Trudeau said the events that took place yesterday in Toronto were a senseless attack and horrific tragedy. “On behalf of all Canadians, I offer my deepest heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of all those who were killed and we wish a full recovery to those injured and stand with the families and friends of the victims”, he said.

“I will note the excellent collaboration between all orders of government and law enforcement in the handling of this situation. We’re continuing to monitor it closely and work with our law enforcement Partners around the country to ensure the safety and security of all Canadians”, he concluded.

Published in Daily Times, April 25^th 2018.