10 dead in Toronto van attack

Toronto, April 24 

At least 10 people died after a man plowed a rental van into a crowd of pedestrians in Canada’s biggest city Toronto, in what police dubbed a deliberate attack.

The incident took place in broad daylight around 16 kilometers (10 miles) from a conference centre hosting a meeting of G7 ministers, but officials said they had no evidence of a link to the event.

“The actions definitely looked deliberate,” Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders said. Ralph Goodale, the minister of public security, added that “on the basis of all available information at the present time, there would appear to be no national security connection to this particular incident.” 

Police arrested a suspect at the scene who police identified later as 25-year-old Alek Minassian from a northern Toronto suburb of the attack, whose initial death toll of nine jumped to 10 after one person succumbed to injuries.

Fifteen people remained in hospitals throughout the city, Saunders said, adding that local, provincial and federal investigators were probing the case. Two South Koreans were among the dead, a Seoul foreign ministry official told AFP, with another of its citizens 

seriously injured.

At the scene, at least three bodies could be seen under orange sheets and a long stretch of road was sealed off with police incident tape.

The suspect and a police officer faced off, their guns drawn. The suspect eventually surrendered his weapon and was taken into custody.

Vehicle attacks have been carried out to deadly effect by extremists in a number of capitals and major cities, including London, Paris, New York and Nice.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the G7 meeting would continue as planned into Tuesday, with officials discussing ways to secure democratic societies from foreign interference.

Officers were called to the scene on Yonge Street at the corner with Finch Avenue around 1.30 pm, police said.

A white rental van with a dented front bumper was stopped on the sidewalk of a major intersection, surrounded by police vehicles. “He was going really fast,” witness Alex Shaker told CTV television. “All I could see was just people one by one getting knocked out, knocked out, one by one,” Shaker said. — AFP 

Suspect arrested   

• The suspect has been identified as 25-year-old Alek Minassian, who was arrested from a northern Toronto suburb 
• The suspected accused has been charged with 10 counts of murder 
• The incident took place 10 miles from a conference centre hosting a meeting of G7 ministers