Toronto van incident: Firemen cover a victim of an incident where a van struck multiple people at a major intersection in Toronto’s northern suburbs, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo: Reuters)
At least ten people were killed and 15 injured after a van plowed into pedestrians along a sidewalk called Yonge Street in Toronto on Monday. The driver, who was taken into custody, was identified as Alek Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, a neighborhood close to Toronto, according to CBC News. Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said he did not think it was an accident. “The incident definitely looked deliberate”, he said.
Video footage of the incident showed the cop staring down the suspect at gunpoint in the middle of a street, while the man pointed to what appeared to be a gun and shouted “Kill me.” A Toronto police officer who refused to shoot the man was praised for restraint in the midst of chaos, coming just minutes after the incident. As the suspect shouted “Kill me,” the officer replied, “No, get down”. When the suspect said, “I have a gun in my pocket,” the officer responded: “I don’t care. Get down.” Here’s everything you need to know | Who is Alek Minassian?
The sidewalk was roughly a 1.6 kilometre-stretch and was filled with with lunch-hour pedestrians. Citing government officials, CBC News said Minassian was not associated with any organised militant group. Read more | Click here to read this article in Bangla
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Toronto police investigates an incident where a van struck multiple people at a major intersection in Toronto's northern suburbs in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Reuters photo)
Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the G7 meeting would continue as planned into Tuesday, with officials discussing ways to secure democratic societies from foreign interference. "The work of the ministers obviously goes on. This is a very sad day for the people of Toronto and the people of Canada," she said.
The incident was one of the most violent in recent Canadian history. A former Canadian university student pleaded guilty last month to killing six men praying in a Quebec City mosque in January 2017. In September, a Somali refugee was charged with attempted murder over allegations he ran down four pedestrians with a car and stabbed a police officer outside a sports stadium in Edmonton, Alberta. "It's unprecedented," said John Flengas, acting superintendent of Toronto's paramedic
Video broadcast on several Canadian outlets showed police arresting the driver, dressed in dark clothes, after officers surrounded him and his rental Ryder van several blocks from where the incident occurred in the North York neighbourhood of northern Toronto. He appeared to make some sort of gesture at the police with an object in his hand just before they ordered him to lie down on the ground and took him away.
``I can assure the public all our available resources have been brought in to investigate this tragic situation,'' Toronto Police Services Deputy Chief Peter Yuen said earlier.
Authorities released few details in the case, saying the investigation was still underway, with witnesses being interviewed and surveillance video being examined.
Officials would not comment on a possible motive except to play down a possible connection to terrorism, a thought that occurred to many following a series of attacks involving trucks and pedestrians in Europe and the presence in Toronto this week of Cabinet ministers from the G7 nations. Asked if there was any evidence of a terrorist link, the chief said only, "Based on what we have there's nothing that has it to compromise the national security at this time."
Police in Canada's biggest city are piecing together witness accounts and surveillance video trying to determine why a driver plowed a rented van along a crowded sidewalk, killing 10 people and injuring 15 in what many said seemed a deliberate attack. Watch Video
Witnesses also said the driver was moving fast and appeared to intentionally jump a curb in the North York neighborhood as people filled the sidewalks on a warm afternoon. He continued for more than a mile, knocking out a fire hydrant and leaving bodies strewn in his wake.
The tragedy struck as Canada was still recovering from the shock of a highway crash in Saskatchewan earlier this month that killed 16 people on a bus carrying a junior hockey team.
The incident shook the usually peaceful streets of Toronto, a major tourist destination. The city, which has a population of 2.8 million, recorded 61 murders last year.
The White House is offering its condolences to Canadians following the deadly rampage of a van down a Toronto sidewalk that killed 10 people and put 15 in the hospital. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says in a statement Monday night that the US. stands with the Canadian people "in the aftermath of today's tragic event in Toronto.''
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those affected, and we wish a full recovery to those injured. The United States Government pledges to provide any support Canada may need," she added.
The suspect was identified as Alek Minassian, a 25-year-old man from the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill.
The usually bustling street quickly turned into a taped-off crime scene, with shocked pedestrians murmuring into their mobile phones, stopping to take photos of tarpaulin-shrouded corpses beyond the police tape. Adrian, another witness who declined to provide his surname, said he saw the tail end of the killing spree. "I’m still shaking," he said, holding back tears, more than an hour after the incident. Downtown Toronto's iconic CN Tower, which is normally lit up in the evening, went dark on Monday evening.
Steve Cortesi witnessed the carnage when he stepped out of his building for a smoke. "I turned up my head and saw a van hit a man walking through the intersection," Reuters quoted Cortesi as saying. "It was a green light. He actually rolled into the road. I ran into the middle of the road and stopped all the cars. And then pandemonium broke loose, everyone was going crazy."
"There was stuff going on all up and down the sidewalks," Lee said by telephone. "It was surreal to see this happen on the first bright spring day in Toronto." He quickly learned he had seen the victims of one of Canada's rare mass attacks. A white van had ploughed down people walking along Yonge Street, killing 10 and injuring 15.
Young Lee, a 56-year-old attorney, looked out of his third-floor office window to see that food trucks had returned to the neighbourhood on one of the first warm days of the year. Then he realised something was wrong: Two people were on the ground next to a truck, frantically being treated by medics were performing CPR. There was blood on the ground, people were dishevelled and clothes were thrown around.
Shoes, torn clothing and bodies covered with tarpaulins were strewn across one of Toronto's busiest streets on Monday, turning a 15-block area into a ghost town after a van struck and killed 10 people and injured 15.
A web portal has been set by the police so that the witnesses can share videos and photos of the incident.
A long stretch of Yonge Street in Toronto's North York is cordoned off with yellow police tape for what police say will be a complex investigation. There are multiple sites where people were hit. At one intersection, debris and a lone shoe mark the spot of one fatality. In the aftermath, people who would usually be running errands or heading back to surrounding office towers and condominiums reacted with shock at what happened, sharing what they had seen or heard, even though reasons behind the incident remain unclear, according to BBC.Fire fighters stand near a covered body after a van struck multiple people at a major intersection northern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Reuters photo)
Toronto Mayor John Tory called it "a very tragic incident" that was "not representative of how we live or who we are". He said he had "offered any and all assistance that the city can provide to the police to help this investigation", according to BBC.
Toronto deputy police chief Peter Yuen asked for witnesses to come forward and said there would be "a long investigation". He said separate hotlines had been set up for victims' families and for witnesses.
Ralph Goodale said, "The investigation is at a stage where no further information can be confirmed at this point." "The police are conducting obviously their thorough investigation to determine what happened and why it happened, the motivations involved," Goodale said.
Tonight, the hearts & thoughts of an entire country are with the families and friends of those killed in Toronto today. We also wish all those injured a fast and full recovery. The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the fatal van attack in Toronto:
“It was with great sadness that I heard about the tragic and senseless attack that took place in Toronto this afternoon. On behalf of all Canadians, I offer my heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of those who were killed, and my thoughts for a fast and full recovery to those injured.
“I thank 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.”
Last month, a former Canadian university student pleaded guilty to killing six men praying in a Quebec City mosque in January 2017. In September, a Somali refugee was charged with attempted murder over allegations he ran down four pedestrians with a car and stabbed a police officer outside a sports stadium in Edmonton, Alberta.
The CBC aired a video it said was shot by a bystander that showed police arresting a suspect at the scene as he shouted: "Kill me" and pointed an unidentified object at an officer. The video later showed what appeared to be the same man lying down, being handcuffed.
Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, standing next to Saunders, said: 'There would appear to be no national security connections.' The driver steered his vehicle toward people just before 1:30 p.m. (1730 GMT). A Reuters witness saw at least two tarp-covered bodies at the site of the incident.
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders identified the suspect as Alek Minassian, 25, who he said had not previously been known to authorities.
"The actions definitely looked deliberate," he told a late-night news conference close to the site of the incident in the northern section of Canada's biggest city, noting the van had been driven along sidewalks.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the incident a 'tragic and senseless attack'. "It was with great sadness that I heard about the tragic and senseless attack that took place in Toronto this afternoon," Trudeau said in a statement. "We should all feel safe walking in our cities and communities."
Ryder System Inc spokeswoman Claudia Panfil confirmed that one of the company's rental vehicles had been involved and said the company was cooperating with authorities. There has been a string of deadly vehicle attacks in the United States and Europe, including an Oct. 31 attack in New York that killed eight. The Islamic State militant group encourages its supporters to use vehicles for attacks.
Officials declined to answer questions on what motivated the driver to steer his vehicle toward people just before 1:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) in the northern section of Canada's biggest city. They said the driver was in custody and officials stopped short of calling it a deliberate act. But at least one witness described the driver as appearing to deliberately target victims, according to media reports. "This is going to be a long investigation," Toronto Deputy Chief Peter Yuen told reporters after disclosing the death toll.
Welcome to our LIVE blog. A driver deliberately plowed his white Ryder rental van into a lunch-hour crowd in Toronto on Monday, killing 10 people and injuring 15 along a sidewalk in Toronto. Follow to get the latest updates