The man taken into custody after pedestrians were mowed down on a busy Toronto street Monday has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.
Alek Minassian, 25, was arrested after the white van was driven down a busy stretch of Yonge Street, between Sheppard and Finch avenues, and left a trail of carnage and panic in its wake.
Minassian appeared in court wearing a white jumpsuit on Tuesday morning. He showed little emotion, only giving his name and confirming he understood conditions imposed on him by the court.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/ ... ow-so-far/
- Ten people are dead after a rental van mowed down pedestrians in north Toronto on Monday.
- The van drove south on Yonge Street from Finch Avenue for 2.2 kilometres, leaving a wake of destruction behind it before coming to a stop.
[...]
- Suspect Alek Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, Ont., is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder. No motive is yet known.
- A Facebook post moments before the attack – which, according to a Facebook spokesperson, apparently came from Mr. Minassian's actual account – made reference to an "incel rebellion." The term "incel," or "involuntary celibacy," has been used by so-called men's rights activists and is often linked to mass shooter Elliot Rodger, whom the Facebook post mentioned by name. It is unclear whether Mr. Minassian wrote the post himself.
- Officials are not treating the incident as a national-security issue, federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Monday.
The alleged drive was arrested.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/ ... ct-in-van/
Video from the scene shows a black-clad man quickly and repeatedly drawing and aiming an object at a police officer, shouting at the officer to kill him. The officer ignores the demand and continues to advance slowly with his firearm drawn.
Not a single shot was fired during the dramatic exchange and the officer is being lauded for his cool-headed arrest.
There is a video of the suspect being arrested in that link. Notice the people walking down the sidewalk, unaware of what was happening.
It was clear the guy wanted to be killed. The police officer didn't bite... an amazing job by that officer.
Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, said the officer did exactly as he was trained to do.
“The officer would have been doing a continual threat assessment,” he said.
An officer would have been justified in discharging a firearm in such a situation, Mr. McCormack said, “but this officer looked at what was going on and determined he could handle it the way that he did. People are right: This guy is a hero.”
I agree. I don't know how I would have reacted in that situation. This guy displayed everything that police can be, and how to do it. Again, amazing.
The Toronto Police Service’s Employee and Family Assistance Program will provide emotional and situational support to affected officers, Mr. McCormack said. As well, officers will undergo critical incident stress debriefing.
“This is a hugely traumatizing incident for all our members,” he said. “This is unprecedented. Even in my over 30 years, to be on a scene like that − you see it on TV and you think it’s in another place, it’s in Europe, but now it’s here. To see the actual carnage and the bodies lying on the streets of Toronto, I think it’s changed the city forever.”
Good - there are many people, from emergency services to emergency room staff who will benefit from immediate post-trauma help. Nobody involved should be left alone to "walk it off".