10 dead after van runs over people in Toronto

A van has run over pedestrians in the Canadian city of Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring more than a dozen others, local officials say. The driver was taken into custody.

The attack happened at 1:27 p.m. ET on Monday when a white rental van drove onto the sidewalk in the area of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue West, which is located in the city’s North York district.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said 10 people were killed and 15 others were injured. Seven of the injured are being treated at Sunnybrook Hospital, where four of them were reported to be in a critical condition.

Footage from the scene showed multiple victims on a sidewalk, including two people who were receiving CPR. Witnesses said that 8 of the victims died at the scene, which covers multiple locations.

The driver, who was identified as 25-year-old Alek Minassian from Richmond Hill, was taken into custody near the scene. A video of the arrest showed that the suspect encouraged a police officer to shoot him, but no shots were fired.

Witnesses said the incident appeared intentional, explaining that the driver was in control of the vehicle as he ran over pedestrians at a high rate of speed. There was no immediate word on a possible motive.

Video shows Toronto attack suspect tried to get an officer to shoot him; no shots were fired pic.twitter.com/8httk0gQL3

— BNO News (@BNONews) April 23, 2018