A Ryder truck jumped onto a sidewalk Monday from a busy intersection in Toronto and struck a crowd of pedestrians.
10 people were killed and 15 were injured, some in critical condition.
The suspect, who has been identified as 25-year-old Alek Minassian, has been arrested.
The attack appears to have been deliberate, but police have not commented on a possible motive.
A van jumped onto a sidewalk Monday from a busy intersection in Toronto and struck a crowd of pedestrians before it was found and the driver taken into custody, Canadian police said.
Toronto police confirmed 10 people had been killed and 15 injured.
Police have arrested 25-year-old Alek Minassian from Richmond Hill, Ontario. He was taken into custody “without incident,” though there appeared to be a short, tense stand-off with a lone police officer.
In a news conference on Monday evening, Toronto Police Service chief Mark Saunders indicated the crash wasn’t an accident.
“The incident definitely looked deliberate,” Saunders said.
A witness, Phil Zullo, told The Canadian Press that he saw police arresting a man who had been driving a Ryder rental truck and saw people “strewn all over the road” where the incident occurred.
“It must have seen about five, six people being resuscitated by bystanders and by ambulance drivers,” Zullo said. “It was awful. Brutal.”
Police inspect a van suspected of being involved in a collision injuring at least eight people at Yonge St. and Finch Ave. on April 23, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. A suspect is in custody after a white van collided with multiple pedestrians. Cole Burston/Getty Images
Police in Toronto, Canada’s most populous city, still have not commented on or released a motive for the van attack, which witnessess uniformly described as deliberate.
Minassian, the suspect found at the scene, lives in the Toronto suburbs and had not been known to police previously, the Associated Press reports. Minassian’s social media profiles are unremarkable and offer little insight.
Pollice have played down a possible connection to terrorism, but terror incidents in New York City and across Europe have used rented trucks to plow down civilians in the past.
The incident occurred as Cabinet ministers from the major industrial countries were gathered in Canada to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June.
A pedestrian, who police say was a witness to a van striking multiple people at a major intersection in Toronto’s northern suburbs, reacts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his sympathies for those involved.
“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,” Trudeau said in a statement.
“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,” he said.
US Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that he and President Donald Trump are “closely monitoring the attack.”
“We are with the Canadian people tonight as they grieve the loss of life & injured. The American people stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our neighbors in Canada,” Pence said.
Toronto police tweeted that Minassian will appear in court at 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, at which point information on his charges will be released.
Dem seh is some bwoy weh frustrated seh him caan get no ooman or regular sex teck out him frustration pon di innocent ppl dem. Police need fi check if him really 25, cause him balding already and look much older than 25. Him look weird as fck and mi not surprised him could not land a relationship or a lover. Nowadays ppl feel seh any life disappointment dem experiencing innocent strangers need to pay for it, it’s a very callous and wicked times wi in, cause ppl want others to suffer and feel pain cause dem in pain. Wicked times wi in.