2018 Toronto van attack

"2018 Toronto attack" redirects here. For the mass shooting in July, known locally as the Danforth shooting, see 2018 Toronto shooting.

2018 Toronto van attack
Toronto Police arrived after the van incident.
Attack location is located in Toronto
Attack location
Attack location
Attack location (Toronto)
Attack location is located in Canada
Attack location
Attack location
Attack location (Canada)
LocationNorth York City Centre, North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DateApril 23, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-04-23)
1:22 – 1:32 p.m. (EDT)
TargetPedestrians, particularly women
Attack type
Vehicle-ramming attack, mass murder, copycat crime
WeaponChevrolet Express van
Deaths11 (including a victim who died in 2021)[1]
Injured15
PerpetratorAlek Minassian
MotiveDisputed:
VerdictGuilty on all counts
Convictions10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder
SentenceLife imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years
Map
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1km
0.6miles
Attack began
Attack began
Mel Lastman Square
Mel Lastman Square
Van stopped
Van stopped

A vehicle-ramming attack occurred on April 23, 2018, when a rented van was driven along Yonge Street through the North York City Centre business district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The driver, 25-year-old Alek Minassian, targeted pedestrians, killing 11[n 1] and injuring 15, some critically.[2] The incident is the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history.[3][4][5][6][7]

The attack started at the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue and proceeded south along the sidewalks of Yonge Street to near Sheppard Avenue. Nine of the eleven killed were women.[8][9] The perpetrator was arrested just south of the crime scene, after leaving the van and reportedly attempting to commit suicide by cop. The arrest was made at 1:32 p.m. EDT, seven minutes after the first 9-1-1 call was made.[10]

The attack is characterized as misogynist terrorism by some because it was motivated by revenge for perceived sexual and social rejection by women,[11] although this conclusion has been challenged. At the time of his arrest, Minassian described himself as an incel to the police,[12] and in prior social media postings, he described the upcoming attack as a continuation of the "incel rebellion" started by the late Elliot Rodger.[13] Minassian pleaded not criminally responsible to the 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder in November 2020, but was found to be guilty on all counts in March 2021.[14] Anne Molloy, the judge of the case, said that "working out his exact motivation for this attack is ... close to impossible," but she "was inclined to accept" assessments by multiple expert witnesses that Minassian likely lied to the police and that notoriety was his main motivation, although misogyny or incel ideology may have still played some role.[15] On June 13, 2022, Minassian was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.[16]

  1. ^ a b "'A huge loss': Yonge Street van attack victim Amaresh Tesfamariam missed 'every day'". Toronto.com. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. November 12, 2021. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  2. ^ Tait, Melissa. "Toronto van attack: What we know about the lives lost, the suspect and more". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  3. ^ Austen, Ian; Stack, Liam (April 23, 2018). "Toronto Van Plows Along Sidewalk, Killing 9 in 'Pure Carnage'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "Canada's Trudeau says security unchanged after Toronto van attack". France 24. April 24, 2018. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "A Grim History of Mass Killings in Canada". Toronto Star. April 24, 2018. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018 – via PressReader.com.
  6. ^ "A history of violence on Canadian soil". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference USA Today-0424 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Porter, Catherine (April 27, 2018). "Eight of 10 Victims in Toronto Van Rampage Were Women". New York Times. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Golding, Janice (November 4, 2021). "'It's so sad, heartbreaking': Nurse paralyzed after Toronto van attack dies". CTV News. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Gillis, Wendy; Powell, Betsy (April 25, 2018). "Rampage victims mainly women". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018 – via www.pressreader.com.
  11. ^ Boy, Louis (April 25, 2018). "Attaque à Toronto : on vous explique qui sont les Incels, ces célibataires misogynes dont se revendique le suspect". France Info (in French).
  12. ^ Wilson, Codi (March 26, 2020). "Toronto van attack trial postponed again, Alek Minassian's lawyer confirms". CTV News. Toronto. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "Toronto van attack suspect says he was 'radicalized' online by 'incels'". The Guardian. September 27, 2019. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  14. ^ Gillies, Rob (March 3, 2021). "Man who used van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto guilty". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  15. ^ Rozdilsky, Jack L.; Snowden, Edward (March 4, 2021). "Toronto van attack: Guilty verdict, but Canada still needs to tackle ideological violence". The Conversation. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  16. ^ "'These lives were precious': Toronto van attacker sentenced to life in prison". cp24.com. June 13, 2022. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.


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