A van jumped onto a sidewalk Monday from a busy intersection in Toronto and struck a crowd of pedestrians; the driver was taken into custody, police said.
10 people were killed and 15 were injured, some in critical condition.
The suspect has been identified as 25-year-old Alek Minassian.
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.
A van apparently jumped onto a sidewalk Monday from a busy intersection in Toronto and struck a crowd of pedestrians before it was found and the driver taken into custody, Canadian police said.
Toronto police confirmed 10 people had been killed and 15 injured.
Police have arrested 25-year-old Alek Minassian from Richmond Hill and said he was taken into custody without incident.
The incident, which occurred around 1.30pm, was believed to be deliberate, a law-enforcement official told CNN.
“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 earlier in the day.
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.”
As reported by Business Insider