Toronto van attack leaves ten dead
Driver targeted pedestrians over two miles before he was arrested
Ten people were killed and at least 15 injured when a man drove a van onto a Toronto footpath at high speed yesterday.
Police have arrested the driver, who has been identified as 25-year-old Alek Minassian from Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters that his actions “definitely look deliberate”.
Witnesses say the rented van mounted the footpath at a busy intersection and proceeded at 40mph for about two miles before it stopped.
The van “mowed down everything in its path: pedestrians, mailboxes, electrical poles, benches and a fire hydrant,” The New York Times reports.
“The guy was zigging and zagging,” witness Henry Yang told the Toronto Star. “People started flying into the air.”
No motive for the attack has yet been established, but Canadian minister for public safety and emergency preparedness Ralph Goodale said there was “no national security connection” to the incident.
“The events that happened on the street behind us are horrendous, but they do not appear to be connected in any way to national security based on the information at this time,” he said.
Video footage of the driver’s arrest posted on social media appears to show the driver shouting “kill me” and “shoot me in the head” as police ordered him to get down on the ground.
