If it’s not terrorism, then it’s a deranged individual on the loose and the latest weapon of choice is a motorized vehicle. The horror of vehicles plowing into pedestrians has reached Canada as a man mowed 10 to death and injuring 15 others in Yonge Street, Toronto.
The man who has been arrested by the police was identified as Alek Minassian, 25, from Richmond Hill.
“Get down or you’ll be shot,” the officers warned him after he exited the van in a scene captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) “Shoot me in the head,” Mr. Minassian said. He was subdued without any shots being fired.
Alek Minassian was arrested by Toronto police at 1:52 p.m. — 26 minutes after the first 911 call came in alerting police to the horror unfolding during Monday’s sunny lunch hour. A thorough check through Toronto police records did not return any results, meaning Minassian was not previously known to police, said Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders.
A LinkedIn profile of a man of the same name states he is a student at Seneca College. Information revealed that three of those who were injured attended Seneca College’s English Language Institute. Two suffered minor injuries, while one was taken away in an ambulance.
The carnage was reminiscent of deadly terrorist attacks inspired by the Islamic State using vehicles that have shaken up Nice, Berlin, Barcelona, London and New York. But the incident in Toronto seems to be different according to Canada’s public safety minister, Ralph Goodale.
“The events that happened on the street behind us are horrendous,” he said, “but they do not appear to be connected in any way to national security based on the information at this time.”
Yonge Street is Toronto’s main artery and is widely celebrated as the longest street in Canada. It cuts through the city from Lake Ontario through downtown before reaching the suburbs and then into farmland.
