Advertisement

Van plows into pedestrians on a busy Toronto street, leaving at least 9 dead

The suspect is in custody.

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. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
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. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Late Monday afternoon, a white van plowed into a crowd of pedestrians on a sidewalk in north Toronto.

According to authorities, there are 9 dead and 16 injured.

“I saw one old man go flying in the air,” a witness told the Toronto Star. “People were screaming, ‘Oh my god.’ ”

“The driver was swerving back and forth between the sidewalk and the road,” another witness, Diego DeMatos told NBC News. “I saw where the van hit two people and then kept going.”

The driver of the van was  identified as 25-year-old Alek Minassian and was taken into custody. Authorities have not yet commented on a possible motive for the attack.

Advertisement

“We do not know the cause or reason for the collision, but we can confirm the van has been located and the driver is in custody,” a Toronto police spokeswoman told NBC News.

According to Toronto authorities, the suspect was previously known to local law enforcement.


Update, 8:57 PM: The death toll from Monday’s incident climbed to 10, according to authorities. Local officials have yet to determine a motive, but officials are treating the incident as an intentional attack.

This is a developing story. This post will be continuously updated.