The London Beat London, Ontario’s stream of consciousness
Ten are dead and 15 injured after a van jumped a sidewalk near the intersections of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue East near 1.30 p.m. in north Toronto. After crashing into pedestrians, the driver of the van, was taken into custody after a brief standoff with police.
The suspect was arrested, and has been identified as Alek Minassian, a 25-year-old man from Richmond Hill, Ont.
Constable Caroline de Kloet said in an interview, “We don’t know the cause or the reason for the collision, but we can confirm that the van has been located and the driver is in custody”.
Ten of the victims were transported to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto’s lead trauma centre. Two were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, five in a critical condition, and two in serious condition. Dr. Dan Cass, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Executive at Sunnybrook, called the tragedy “unprecedented,” but praised the efforts of EMS and the Sunnybrook team, and said it was something that the hospital staff drill for.
Eyewitness accounts from the scene were nothing short of horrific:
“I just heard screaming and I ran out to my balcony and I saw the van, still heading south on the sidewalk. I heard something being hit, and people screaming. From my balcony I could see five or six people on the ground.” – Andy Jibb
Amir Farokhpour, 28, was taking a break from his furniture store job when he saw the van coming toward the sidewalk on the east side of Yonge, about two blocks south of Finch: “I saw the van heading south and I heard bangs, so I’m guessing he hit hit some other people. I was here for the guy but he was dead in five, six seconds. I tried helping him, but he was dead. There was not much we could do.”
Farokhpour added, “It seemed like he was doing it on purpose, for sure. The whole front of the van was pretty badly damaged, so I’m pretty sure he hit some other people before he got here.”
A video posted to Twitter shows the suspect in front of the van pointing what appears to be a gun, before a police officer gets out of a police car in front of the suspect and unholsters his weapon.
“Get down. Get down or you will be shot,” the officer audibly says in the video.
The suspect shouts something inaudible, before throwing down what he had been holding, and is handcuffed..
Yonge and Finch driver and rental van caught @CP24 @CityNews @CTVToronto @globalnewsto @CBCToronto @ pic.twitter.com/dVJpVUUNX3
— Waqas (@waqas_mahmud) April 23, 2018
Toronto Mayor John Tory said, “My thoughts are with those affected by this incident and the frontline responders who are working to help those injured.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said from Ottawa, “Our hearts go out to everyone affected. We are going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours.”
“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.”
Premier Kathleen Wynne offered, “We’re following the situation closely — working with our federal and municipal partners. Thank you to the first responders caring for victims and witnesses.”
The London Beat offer thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families in the midst of such a terrible tragedy.
