Van in Toronto leaves at least ten dead, 15 injured; driver in custody

World Today

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 23: 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/AFP

A van apparently jumped onto a sidewalk Monday from a busy intersection in Toronto and struck a crowd of pedestrians and before it was found and the driver was taken into custody, Canadian police said.

Toronto’s police chief said a 10 person has died after a rented van plowed into pedestrians along a sidewalk in Toronto. Fifteen people are reported in the hospital.

CGTN’s Roee Ruttenburg has the latest information on the deadly van crash in Toronto that left 10 dead.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders also has released the name of the purported driver detained after Monday’s incident.

The suspect is identified as Alek Minassian, a 25-year-old from the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill.

Canada’s minister of public safety says it’s too soon to say whether the crash of a van into pedestrians in Toronto is a case of international terrorism.

The suspect’s van struck the crowd at Yonge Street and Finch Avenue East. The van drove onto the sidewalk in at least two locations, authorities said.


Twitter users have been sharing multiple angles of the incident, both before and after the crash. Users Rayhana and Vince and CLARK HUA ZHANG shared what appears to be a standoff between Toronto police and the suspect.

Ralph Goodale tells reporters that police are still investigating to determine what happened and why in Monday’s incident.

He declines to confirm reports of the number of injured or whether there are any fatalities. Other authorities have said at least seven people were injured and a photo appears to show at least one person dead.

Goodale says Canada has not changed its terrorism alert level and he has no information that would suggest a need to do so.

It was not immediately clear what caused the van to strike the pedestrians in a busy intersection in the north-central part of the city. Police did not immediately identify the driver.

CTV News reported that at least four of the hospitalized victims were in critical condition.

“At this point it’s too early to tell what if any motive there was. We are also unable right now to tell the extent or the number of persons injured,” Toronto police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said.

A witness,” Phil Zullo, told 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.”

Toronto paramedic spokeswoman Kim McKinnon said first responders were on scene treating multiple patients, but wouldn’t confirm the number or severity of injuries.

Police shut down the Yonge and Finch intersection following the Monday afternoon incident and Toronto’s transit agency said it has suspended service on the subway line running through the area.

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.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his sympathies for those involved. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected,” Trudeau said in Ottawa. “We are going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours.”


Toronto van incident kills at least 10, injures dozens

Police say a van crashed into and killed at least 10 people, and injured more than a dozen others in Toronto, Canada. Officials say the suspect is in custody, but they have not released information on a possible motive or reason behind the incident. Kamil Karamali, a reporter for Global News Toronto, discusses with CGTN’s Mike Walter.