10 dead, 15 injured in Toronto van attack

A Google Maps view of  where the Toronto van attack took place on Monday morning.

Google Maps

A Google Maps view of where the Toronto van attack took place on Monday morning.

Landon DeBoer, Staff Writer

In a seemingly normal Monday morning as pedestrians walked down Yonge Street in Toronto, Canada they were attacked by a white van that ran over multiple people.

This act, committed by Alek Minassian has been found to have no motive at this time, but Toronto police will continue searching for one.

“Obviously all Canadians continue and will continue to have questions about why this happened, what could possibly be the motive behind it,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Minassian rented a van and began swerving into the wrong lanes of traffic and onto the Yonge Street sidewalk. On the sidewalk, Minassian hit multiple pedestrians and ended up killing 10 and injuring 15 more. At this time, officials in Toronto are not calling this an act of terrorism.

“There would appear to be no national security connection,” said Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.

The van drove on Yonge Street from Finch Avenue for 1.4 miles before coming to a stop. After coming to a hault, the van and Minassian were chased and surrounded by police, and the suspect was taken into custody.

“This is the type of thing you see on news, but in the States,” said Christopher Thorne, 30, a landscaper who who visited the crime scene to mourn the victims of the incident.

“How could someone do this?” said Thorne. “This doesn’t happen in Canada.”

The 25-year-old, Richmond Hill, Ontario resident, Minassian has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder. He will be held in prison until May 10 when Minassian has a possible bail hearing.