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Asked whether Monday’s incident in Toronto was a terrorist attack, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale declined to speculate.

“We cannot come to any firm conclusions at this stage,” he explained. “The police are conducting their thorough investigation into what happened and why it happened.”

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But as the public grapples with the toll of one man’s collision with pedestrians on Yonge Street — which killed 10 and injured 15 in Toronto on Monday — speculation is hard to avoid.

Why was security at Monday’s Maple Leafs game in Toronto ramped up? Why were emergency rooms treating victims on lockdown? Were RCMP involved in investigations?

Dan Brien, communications director for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, added to the minister’s earlier remarks only to say that local authorities determined how much security was needed at Toronto venues, and that RCMP were being looped into Toronto Police Services investigations but at press time Monday’s events were still considered a criminal matter.

Photo by Craig Robertson/Postmedia Network

An act of terror or not, the seemingly deliberate use of a vehicle as a weapon brings to mind similar events that have been making headlines around the world.

In early April a man with a history of mental illness killed three people in Munster, Germany after he rammed a van into a crowd outside a restaurant.

In December a car plowed into Christmas shoppers in Melbourne, Australia, killing one and injuring at least 18. The driver, an Australian citizen of Afghan descent, had a history of mental health problems and drug use. Police said there was no evidence that terrorism was linked to the incident.

But using vehicles as projectiles has become a signature for extremists. Last week, a Palestinian man was charged after ramming his car into a group of Israeli soldiers, killing two.