Article content continued

The accused, head shaved and with a day or two of stubble, spoke his name and said ‘Yes,’ when asked if he understood the proceedings, speaking in a clipped, almost military tone.

Waisberg also ordered Minassian, who lives in Richmond Hill, north of Toronto, specifically to avoid contact with the attempted-murder victims.

An older man believed to be the alleged killer’s father was in court and on the verge of tears, helped by an official and talked to by the defence lawyer.

A throng of media surrounded the man as police escorted him to this car, but he said nothing as questions were flung his way.

Photo by EXimages/WENN.com

Police allege Minassian rented a panel van Monday morning and just after 1 p.m. began his lethal spree down Yonge Street, through the downtown heart of suburban North York.

Swerving on and off the sidewalks, the van hit people, mail boxes and fire hydrants over a kilometre-long stretch, witnesses and police said.

Another kilometre south, the vehicle stopped and the driver was arrested by a lone officer who is being hailed for his restraint after the man pointed an object at him that appeared like a gun.

The first of the fatal victims to be publicly identified was Anne Marie D’Amico , who worked for U.S. based investment management firm Invesco Canada, which has offices close to the scene of the rampage.

“Her name has been broadcast around the world, attached to this terrible tragedy.” D’Amico’s family said in a statement to CBC News, lauding her extensive volunteer work. “But we want everyone to know that she embodied the definition of altruism.”

Meanwhile, South Korean officials have confirmed that the country lost two citizens in the attack, and a Jordanian citizen is also among the dead. Seneca College, where Minassian himself was reportedly a student, confirmed that it lost an as-yet-unnamed female student.

The mass assault down a street crowded with pedestrians, and lined with condo towers, restaurants and office buildings, left other types of victims, too.

Saunders said police have opened a hotline for people who witnessed the rampage or its bloody aftermath and need counselling.

“It is a service that will be provided for free,” said the police chief. “I don’t want people walking away thinking, ‘I need help, but I can’t afford it.’ Or ‘I need help but I wasn’t part of this investigation.’ ”

Amir Farokhpour, 28, who witnessed a middle-aged man being hit by the van and flung through the air – then tried in vain to help the pedestrian as he died – interrupted an interview with the National Post Monday, saying he felt sick to his stomach.

When the conversation resumed later, Farokhpour said the shock of the scene had left him temporarily unable to feel his legs.