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Police piece together all accounts to ascertain Toronto van attack motive

April 24, 2018
The front end damage of the van that the driver used to hit several pedestrians in Toronto, Ontario, on Monday on Monday. — AFP
The front end damage of the van that the driver used to hit several pedestrians in Toronto, Ontario, on Monday on Monday. — AFP

TORONTO — A driver suspected of killing 10 and injuring 15 others when he plowed a rental van into pedestrians in Toronto was expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday when details of a motive for the attack were expected to emerge.

While the worst mass killing in Canada in decades has the hallmarks of other deadly vehicle assaults by Daesh (the so-called IS) supporters in the United States and Europe, officials said it did not represent a threat to national security.

Alex Minassian, 25, identified by police as the suspect, will appear in a Toronto court at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), Toronto police said. Charges will be made public at that time.

Minassian, who was not previously known to authorities, attended a high school program where one classmate remembered him as “absolutely harmless.”

The officer who apprehended Minassian was praised for making a peaceful arrest eve as the suspect shouted “Kill me” and claimed to have a gun.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who called the incident a “tragic and senseless attack,” was to speak to reporters at 8:25 a.m. EDT (1225 GMT) in Ottawa.

Canadians mourned as the victims began to be identified on Tuesday. “We are a peaceful, tolerant, free society. The horrific violence on Toronto’s Yonge Street will strengthen rather than undermine these truths,” columnist John Ibbitson wrote in the Globe and Mail national newspaper.

The attack shook the usually peaceful streets of Toronto, a multicultural city with a population of 2.8 million. The city recorded 61 murders last year.

Downtown Toronto's iconic CN Tower, which is normally lit up in the evening, went dark on Monday evening.

The drama started at lunchtime on a warm spring day, when the driver drove his vehicle into the crowds. The street was soon covered in blood, empty shoes and bodies.

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.”

A senior national government official said earlier that authorities had not turned over the investigation to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a sign that investigators believed it was unlikely that terrorism was the motive. The official agreed to reveal that information only if not quoted by name.

Authorities released few details in the case, saying the investigation was still underway, with witnesses being interviewed and surveillance video being examined.

“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.

Canada is 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.

Last October eight people died in New York when a man driving a rented pickup truck mowed down pedestrians and cyclists on a bike path. — Agencies


April 24, 2018
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