A man accused of using a rented van to plough into a busy Toronto sidewalk has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder as Canadian authorities attempted to make sense of what is thought to be one of the deadliest incidents of violence in the country’s history.

Alek Minassian, 25, from Richmond Hill, near Toronto, showed little emotion during a brief court appearance on Tuesday. His father, Vahe Minassian, sat in the first row of the courtroom, wiping away tears as the charges were read out. Asked outside if he had any message for the families of the victims, he said quietly: “I’m sorry.”

Canadian authorities have yet to suggest any possible motivation for the attack. On Tuesday, police said the suspect was alleged to have posted a “cryptic” message on Facebook minutes before the attack took place.

The now-deleted post praised Elliot Rodger, a 22-year-old man who killed six people and wounded 13 others in California in 2014. In online posts that raged at women for rejecting his romantic advances, Rodger had described himself as an “incel” – someone who is involuntarily celibate.



Calling Rodger “the Supreme Gentleman”, the social media post linked to Minassian said: “The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys!” The post also included a reference to the message board 4Chan.

The post appeared to be a nod to a now-banned Reddit community largely made up of men who appeared to hate women and in some cases advocated rape. Chads and Stacys are pejorative terms used by the group to describe men who are sexually active and women who won’t date members of the group.

Facebook confirmed that the post was made on an account belonging to the suspect and said it had taken down his profile after the attack.

Asked whether the suspect’s motive may have been related to issues with women, police said that this would be part of their investigation. While the victims were predominantly females, ranging in age from mid-20s to 80s, there was no indication that the suspect had deliberately targeted women in the attack, said Graham Gibson of the Toronto police.

The “horrific and deliberate attack” has left Toronto in mourning, the city’s mayor, John Tory, said on Tuesday. It took place around lunchtime on Monday, as crowds were out basking in the sun of one of the first warm days of the year.



Shocked witnesses described watching as a van jumped the kerb of one of the city’s main arteries, zigzagging as it barrelled into pedestrians and oncoming traffic.

“People started flying in the air,” Henry Yang, who was driving behind the van as the incident unfolded, told the Toronto Star. “I started honking my horn, making noises, trying to make a commotion, trying to make people aware that something was going on. I rolled down my windows and started yelling at people. I wanted them to get out of the way.”

The van crashed through crowds, fire hydrants and a bus shelter. “It was like he was playing a video game, trying to kill as many people as possible,” Panna Patel told the Associated Press. “He was looking people directly in the eye, making eye contact. It was so scary.”

The attack killed 10 people and injured another 14.

Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, described it as a “senseless attack and a horrific tragedy”.

He downplayed any possible link to terrorism, saying that at the moment there was no evidence to suggest there is a “national security element” to the situation. “We cannot as Canadians choose to live in fear every single day as we go about our daily business.”

While police have not yet released the names of those killed in the attack, Anne Marie D’Amico has been identified as one of the victims. She was remembered by her family as someone with a generous heart “who always did big things for people”.

Munair Najjar, a citizen of Jordan who was in Toronto visit family was killed in the attack, according to Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency, which provided no other details. Two South Koreans were also among those killed, officials in Seoul told Agence France-Presse, and another of its citizens was seriously injured.

On Tuesday, a portrait began to emerge of Minassian, the young man alleged to have carried out the attack. A computer software student at a Toronto college, he had handed in his final project weeks earlier.

Joe Pham, who said he recently took a programming class with Minassian, described him as someone who kept to himself. “He was socially awkward but well spoken,” Pham told the Guardian.

Canadian military officials said Minassian joined the Canadian armed forces last August but was “voluntarily released” weeks later at his own request. He completed just 16 days of basic training.

Shortly after Minassian’s arrest, police descended on a brick home in Richmond Hill believed to be connected to the 25-year-old. Calling the investigation “far from over”, Toronto’s police chief, Mark Saunders, appealed to witnesses to come forward.

He said: “We need to identify if there are more people, if he’s working in concert with anyone, or if this was just a lone act on his own doing.”

Minassian was not previously known to police, he said.

The incident unfolded miles north of Toronto’s downtown core, in a neighbourhood that ranks among the city’s most multicultural. Hours after the attack, a makeshift memorial sprang up near the path of devastation. Hundreds of residents have since stopped by to pay their respects, leaving handwritten notes of condolences and support in several languages.

“Each life had so much love,” said Saman Tabasinejad as she planted roses alongside the messages. “I just want to honour them.”

Much of the 2km stretch of city blocks where the incident unfolded remained closed to traffic on Tuesday. The area is expected to stay cordoned off for several days as some officers comb the area for clues in what is expected to be a lengthy investigation.