Canada - Truck hits at least 8 people in Toronto
- Thread starter Jacques
- Start date
Heart goes out to those remaining who are injured and their families, and the people who have now lost loved ones.
I did not even hear of this until getting home tonight, and now it is 10 who have died. Tried to catch the first news points - as said, it happened during the G7 meeting on global security in TO. Not much on the driver, yet they are piecing together a profile via social networks. Apparently, he is 25, a collage student and appears to have rented a van. Something about him mimicking the guy from a few years ago who was rebuffed by the opposite sex, being a motive for his crimes then. This guy has used words that link to this in social media, apparently.
The arresting officer did a very good job, called this guys bluff as the guy pretended to draw a gun and shot the cop (somewhat animated - quick-draw style). The cop put away his gun and pulled out his baton only, and the guy knew he was not going to get shot and surrendered. In other places he would have been shot dead - smart cop, very cool and calm and well trained!
The news was peppered with statements, in retrospect, it was like pre-priming, whereby police had said a month ago or more in the area (with the news to help), to lay down statements concerning weaponized vehicles, yet that has been the view and reality around the world for a while. There were many reactionary words of 'what can we do,' which remains to be seen.
Very strange; this guy 'went off' the rails.
I did not even hear of this until getting home tonight, and now it is 10 who have died. Tried to catch the first news points - as said, it happened during the G7 meeting on global security in TO. Not much on the driver, yet they are piecing together a profile via social networks. Apparently, he is 25, a collage student and appears to have rented a van. Something about him mimicking the guy from a few years ago who was rebuffed by the opposite sex, being a motive for his crimes then. This guy has used words that link to this in social media, apparently.
The arresting officer did a very good job, called this guys bluff as the guy pretended to draw a gun and shot the cop (somewhat animated - quick-draw style). The cop put away his gun and pulled out his baton only, and the guy knew he was not going to get shot and surrendered. In other places he would have been shot dead - smart cop, very cool and calm and well trained!
The news was peppered with statements, in retrospect, it was like pre-priming, whereby police had said a month ago or more in the area (with the news to help), to lay down statements concerning weaponized vehicles, yet that has been the view and reality around the world for a while. There were many reactionary words of 'what can we do,' which remains to be seen.
Very strange; this guy 'went off' the rails.
angelburst29
The Living Force
April 23, 2018 - 10 killed, 15 injured as van plows into crowded Toronto sidewalk; Driver arrested
10 killed, 15 injured as van plows into crowded Toronto sidewalk; driver arrested
Authorities said the driver, identified as Alek Minassian, fled but was later arrested in a confrontation with police.
Witnesses said the driver was moving fast and appeared to be acting deliberately, but police officials would not comment on the cause or any possible motive.
Speaking at a news conference Monday night, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders raised the initial death toll of nine to 10, saying another victim had died at a hospital. He said 15 others were hospitalized.
"The incident definitely looked deliberate," he said.
Saunders said Minassian was a 25-year-old resident of the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill. He said the suspect had not been known to police previously.
Asked if there was any evidence of a connection to international terrorism, the chief said only, “Based on what we have there’s nothing that has it to compromise the national security at this time.”
But a senior national government official said earlier that authorities had not turned over the investigation to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a sign that investigators believed it unlikely terrorism was the motive. The official agreed to reveal that information only if not quoted by name.
Authorities released few details in the case, saying the investigation was still underway, with witnesses being interviewed and surveillance video being examined.
“I can assure the public all our available resources have been brought in to investigate this tragic situation,” Toronto Police Services Deputy Chief Peter Yuen said earlier.
The driver was heading south on busy Yonge Street around 1:30 p.m. and the streets were crowded with people enjoying an unseasonably warm day when the van jumped onto the sidewalk.
Ali Shaker, who was driving near the van at the time, told Canadian broadcast outlet CP24 that the driver appeared to be moving deliberately through the crowd at more than 30 mph.
“He just went on the sidewalk,” a distraught Shaker said. “He just started hitting everybody, man. He hit every single person on the sidewalk. Anybody in his way he would hit.”
Witness Peter Kang told CTV News that the driver did not seem to make any effort to stop.
“If it was an accident he would have stopped,” Kang said. “But the person just went through the sidewalk. He could have stopped.”
A witness, Phil Zullo, told Canadian Press that he saw police arresting a man who had been driving a Ryder rental truck and saw people “strewn all over the road” where the incident occurred.
“I must have seen about five, six people being resuscitated by bystanders and by ambulance drivers,” Zullo said. “It was awful. Brutal.”
The incident occurred as Cabinet ministers from the major industrial countries were gathered in Canada to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June.
The driver was heading south on busy Yonge Street around 1:30 p.m. and the streets were crowded with people enjoying an unseasonably warm day when the van jumped onto the sidewalk.
Video broadcast on several Canadian outlets showed police arresting the driver, dressed in dark clothes, after officers surrounded him and his rental Ryder van several blocks from where the incident occurred in the North York neighborhood of northern Toronto. He appeared to make some sort of gesture at the police with an object in his hand just before they ordered him to lie down on the ground and took him away.
Police shut down the Yonge and Finch intersection following the incident and Toronto’s transit agency said it had suspended service on the subway line running through the area.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his sympathies for those involved. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected,” Trudeau said in Ottawa. “We are going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours.”
Buildings and workplaces in the area were locked down, and a nearby subway station was closed and service suspended. Bystander Essy Taeb told Toronto’s CP24 television the scene was chaotic.
“Everyone was running all over the place,” Taeb said.
April 23, 2018 - Driver Plows Van Into Toronto Pedestrians, Killing at Least 10
Driver Plows Van Into Toronto Pedestrians, Killing at Least 10
TORONTO—A man in his mid-20s plowed a rented van into people walking along a busy Toronto thoroughfare on Monday, killing at least 10 and injuring 15, and rattled one of North America’s safest major cities.
Police said they arrested the driver, Alek Minassian, 25 years old, of Ontario. Authorities said Monday evening that they were still trying to determine his motive.
“We cannot come to any firm conclusions at this stage,” said Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. But he said there was “no national security connection” to the attack, based on the evidence police have seen so far.
Toronto Chief of Police Mark Saunders said the attack “looks intentional.”
The casualties occurred on one of the city’s first warm spring days, along Toronto’s main artery, Yonge Street. Mass killings have been much rarer in Canada than in the U.S. and Europe, and many said they were stunned.
“I’m at a loss for words. I can’t believe that this has happened here. Things like this don’t happen in Canada,” said, Melissa Phillips, a nurse who was walking her dog Monday evening just steps away from where pedestrians were hit earlier.
The van jumped up onto the sidewalk around 1:30 p.m. Monday, hitting pedestrians as it headed south for about a mile.
Police said 26 minutes lapsed between the first 911 call and the driver’s arrest.
April 23, 2018 - Latest on Van Terror Attack in Toronto: 10 dead, 15 injured (Videos)
Latest on Van Terror Attack in Toronto: 10 dead, 15 injured
Toronto police say 10 people have died and 15 are injured after multiple pedestrians were struck by a white van in Toronto Monday afternoon.
“(At) approximately 1:30 this afternoon, Toronto Police received a number of calls from citizens indicating a vehicle was driving on Yonge Street and striking a number of pedestrians between Finch Avenue and Sheppard Avenue,” Deputy Police Chief Peter Yuen told reporters Monday afternoon.—More….
‘Everyone started running and screaming’: Eyewitnesses describe panic as van hits Toronto pedestrians
At least nine people were killed and 16 others were injured after a white van jumped the curb on a busy Toronto street Monday afternoon.
Police say the van drove down the sidewalk southbound on Yonge Street, southwards from Finch Avenue, hitting pedestrians as it went. The extent of the injuries aren’t yet known, but witnesses described a scene of panic.—More
10 killed, 15 injured as van plows into crowded Toronto sidewalk; driver arrested
- Authorities say Alek Minassian, 25, appeared to have acted deliberately; he was later arrested in a confrontation with police.
- The incident occurred as Cabinet ministers from the G7 countries were gathered in Toronto to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting
Authorities said the driver, identified as Alek Minassian, fled but was later arrested in a confrontation with police.
Witnesses said the driver was moving fast and appeared to be acting deliberately, but police officials would not comment on the cause or any possible motive.
Speaking at a news conference Monday night, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders raised the initial death toll of nine to 10, saying another victim had died at a hospital. He said 15 others were hospitalized.
"The incident definitely looked deliberate," he said.
Saunders said Minassian was a 25-year-old resident of the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill. He said the suspect had not been known to police previously.
Asked if there was any evidence of a connection to international terrorism, the chief said only, “Based on what we have there’s nothing that has it to compromise the national security at this time.”
But a senior national government official said earlier that authorities had not turned over the investigation to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a sign that investigators believed it unlikely terrorism was the motive. The official agreed to reveal that information only if not quoted by name.
Authorities released few details in the case, saying the investigation was still underway, with witnesses being interviewed and surveillance video being examined.
“I can assure the public all our available resources have been brought in to investigate this tragic situation,” Toronto Police Services Deputy Chief Peter Yuen said earlier.
The driver was heading south on busy Yonge Street around 1:30 p.m. and the streets were crowded with people enjoying an unseasonably warm day when the van jumped onto the sidewalk.
Ali Shaker, who was driving near the van at the time, told Canadian broadcast outlet CP24 that the driver appeared to be moving deliberately through the crowd at more than 30 mph.
“He just went on the sidewalk,” a distraught Shaker said. “He just started hitting everybody, man. He hit every single person on the sidewalk. Anybody in his way he would hit.”
Witness Peter Kang told CTV News that the driver did not seem to make any effort to stop.
“If it was an accident he would have stopped,” Kang said. “But the person just went through the sidewalk. He could have stopped.”
A witness, Phil Zullo, told Canadian Press that he saw police arresting a man who had been driving a Ryder rental truck and saw people “strewn all over the road” where the incident occurred.
“I must have seen about five, six people being resuscitated by bystanders and by ambulance drivers,” Zullo said. “It was awful. Brutal.”
The incident occurred as Cabinet ministers from the major industrial countries were gathered in Canada to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June.
The driver was heading south on busy Yonge Street around 1:30 p.m. and the streets were crowded with people enjoying an unseasonably warm day when the van jumped onto the sidewalk.
Video broadcast on several Canadian outlets showed police arresting the driver, dressed in dark clothes, after officers surrounded him and his rental Ryder van several blocks from where the incident occurred in the North York neighborhood of northern Toronto. He appeared to make some sort of gesture at the police with an object in his hand just before they ordered him to lie down on the ground and took him away.
Police shut down the Yonge and Finch intersection following the incident and Toronto’s transit agency said it had suspended service on the subway line running through the area.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his sympathies for those involved. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected,” Trudeau said in Ottawa. “We are going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours.”
Buildings and workplaces in the area were locked down, and a nearby subway station was closed and service suspended. Bystander Essy Taeb told Toronto’s CP24 television the scene was chaotic.
“Everyone was running all over the place,” Taeb said.
April 23, 2018 - Driver Plows Van Into Toronto Pedestrians, Killing at Least 10
Driver Plows Van Into Toronto Pedestrians, Killing at Least 10
TORONTO—A man in his mid-20s plowed a rented van into people walking along a busy Toronto thoroughfare on Monday, killing at least 10 and injuring 15, and rattled one of North America’s safest major cities.
Police said they arrested the driver, Alek Minassian, 25 years old, of Ontario. Authorities said Monday evening that they were still trying to determine his motive.
“We cannot come to any firm conclusions at this stage,” said Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. But he said there was “no national security connection” to the attack, based on the evidence police have seen so far.
Toronto Chief of Police Mark Saunders said the attack “looks intentional.”
The casualties occurred on one of the city’s first warm spring days, along Toronto’s main artery, Yonge Street. Mass killings have been much rarer in Canada than in the U.S. and Europe, and many said they were stunned.
“I’m at a loss for words. I can’t believe that this has happened here. Things like this don’t happen in Canada,” said, Melissa Phillips, a nurse who was walking her dog Monday evening just steps away from where pedestrians were hit earlier.
The van jumped up onto the sidewalk around 1:30 p.m. Monday, hitting pedestrians as it headed south for about a mile.
Police said 26 minutes lapsed between the first 911 call and the driver’s arrest.
April 23, 2018 - Latest on Van Terror Attack in Toronto: 10 dead, 15 injured (Videos)
Latest on Van Terror Attack in Toronto: 10 dead, 15 injured
Toronto police say 10 people have died and 15 are injured after multiple pedestrians were struck by a white van in Toronto Monday afternoon.
“(At) approximately 1:30 this afternoon, Toronto Police received a number of calls from citizens indicating a vehicle was driving on Yonge Street and striking a number of pedestrians between Finch Avenue and Sheppard Avenue,” Deputy Police Chief Peter Yuen told reporters Monday afternoon.—More….
‘Everyone started running and screaming’: Eyewitnesses describe panic as van hits Toronto pedestrians
At least nine people were killed and 16 others were injured after a white van jumped the curb on a busy Toronto street Monday afternoon.
Police say the van drove down the sidewalk southbound on Yonge Street, southwards from Finch Avenue, hitting pedestrians as it went. The extent of the injuries aren’t yet known, but witnesses described a scene of panic.—More
I think there beaming the Sh@% out off any and all city's! As a continuance of the war on humanity. Vigilance or ignorance aka victim or survivor! Over stimulating the GP's emotional fear level, like cat on hot tin roof. And or the WAVE approaches!
Toronto Killer Van Attack Suspect Named As Alek Minassian
Tyler Durden Mon, 04/23/2018 - 14:02
Update 4: According to local police, the Toronto suspect has been identified as Alek Minassian, aged 25. The Toronto police claim that Minassian is not known to them, and no motive has emerged yet, although there have been conflicting reports that Minassian was known to authorities.
According to unconfirmed reports, Minassian is from Richmond Hill, studied at Seneca College and developed an app called "Toronto Green Parking Advisor."
According to NBC, quoting "multiple law enforcement officials in Canada and the U.S." the preliminary theory is that Minassian may have had mental health issues and had an online discussion about Eliot Rodger who went on a rampage at UC Santa Barbara.
As of now, the suspect’s motive remains uncertain. Toronto police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray told reporter, “At this point it’s too early to tell what, if any, motive there was."
Meanwhile, as Site Intel Group's Rita Katz points out, as of now, ISIS channels are not promoting the Toronto vehicular attack, which contains staples of ISIS-inspired events. Though Alek Minassian wasn’t killed, ISIS may still issue statement if news of links/allegiance arises (like case of Manhattan attacker Sayfullo Saipov).
Update 3: According to a police update, 9 people have been killed and 16 people injured as a result of the van striking pedestrians in Toronto on Monday. The name of the suspect, who was arrested shortly after the deadly attack, has not yet been released.
* * *
Update 2: Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters there are casualties as a result of today's incident but says the city is in "safe hands."
Ralph Goodale, Canada's minister of public safety, says police are conducting thorough investigation into what happened and why it happened. "Until they can provide us with details, it would be inappropriate to speculate" on whether incident is a terror attack.
Meanwhile, CP24 reported that according to Senior Canadian government sources, the country's terror threat level has not changed and although the RCMP has been looped in, the incident is not yet being treated as a national security investigation.
In separate news, North York General Hospital confirmed to CP24 they have received a number of patients after the incident at Yonge St. and Finch Ave. Extent of injuries is not yet known.
Update: According to Toronto police, the van driver has been arrested, however so far there are no details on age, gender or motive
As reported earlier, 8 to 10 people were hit, police said, though Toronto paramedics put the injured number at closer to five.
A witness said separately that he had seen at least four bodies lying covered on the ground, suggesting at least several fatalities, although a local hospital representative confirmed that so far one person has died and at least several others were injured.
The van, which may have mounted the curb and hit the pedestrians on the sidewalk, was stopped by police, Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu told CBC Toronto. Sidhu added that the police still does not know the cause or reason for the collision.
Meanwhile, as CTVNews reports, witness Alex Shaker, who was driving southbound at the time, says the van was travelling at high speed on the sidewalk.
“He started going down on the sidewalk and crumbling down people one by one,” Shaker told CTV News Channel on Monday afternoon.
Shaker said he saw the vehicle strike someone with a stroller.
“He just destroyed so many people’s lives,” he said. “Every single thing that got in his way.”
The extent of injuries is unknown and ambulances are on the scene. Photos posted online show multiple individuals on the ground.
* *
Witness Phil Zullo, who was driving northbound, says he first noticed the commotion when he saw police taking down a male suspect. Zullo says he continued north, where he saw “shoes and hats flown everywhere.”
A witness named Kash told local news station CP24 that he was having lunch at a Jack Astors restaurant when he came out and saw four bodies on the ground in front of Mel Lastman Square. “People were trying to revive them obviously to no avail,” he said.
“It seems very clearly that the van had hopped the curb and kind of driven on the sidewalk going southbound and hit plenty of people.” Kash said that it was “very traumatic.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go to people that do have family that have been hit,” he said. “There was a guy here who said he followed the van down honking his horn trying to warn people as much as he could.”
* * *
Video shared with CTV News shows the suspect pointing a small, dark object at police, with his back to the van. Police can be seen taking cover behind their vehicle and shouting at him to get down.
“Get down!” the officer is heard shouting. “I have a gun in my pocket,” the suspect can be heard saying.
“Get down or you’ll be shot!” the officer says.
The camera turns away from the confrontation for approximately eight seconds, then looks back to show the suspect on the ground, face-down, with the officer cuffing him.
Another video recorded from a nearby building shows the moment missed in the previous video. The suspect can be seen walking out in the street with the object in his hand still pointed at the officer. After approximately five seconds he drops the weapon, throws out his arms and backs up to the curb.
The van suspected in the collision was found on Poyntz Avenue off of Yonge, just south of Sheppard Avenue West.
The van is marked as belonging to the rental company Ryder, which suggests a London-copycat terrorist attack; recall the van used in the March 2017 deadly attack on London Bridge was also a rental.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau briefly addressed the situation before a session in the House of Commons Monday afternoon.
“Our hearts go out to anyone affected,” Trudeau said. “We’re obviously going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours.”
Toronto Killer Van Attack Suspect Named As Alek Minassian
Tyler Durden Mon, 04/23/2018 - 14:02
Update 4: According to local police, the Toronto suspect has been identified as Alek Minassian, aged 25. The Toronto police claim that Minassian is not known to them, and no motive has emerged yet, although there have been conflicting reports that Minassian was known to authorities.
According to unconfirmed reports, Minassian is from Richmond Hill, studied at Seneca College and developed an app called "Toronto Green Parking Advisor."
According to NBC, quoting "multiple law enforcement officials in Canada and the U.S." the preliminary theory is that Minassian may have had mental health issues and had an online discussion about Eliot Rodger who went on a rampage at UC Santa Barbara.
As of now, the suspect’s motive remains uncertain. Toronto police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray told reporter, “At this point it’s too early to tell what, if any, motive there was."
Meanwhile, as Site Intel Group's Rita Katz points out, as of now, ISIS channels are not promoting the Toronto vehicular attack, which contains staples of ISIS-inspired events. Though Alek Minassian wasn’t killed, ISIS may still issue statement if news of links/allegiance arises (like case of Manhattan attacker Sayfullo Saipov).
Update 3: According to a police update, 9 people have been killed and 16 people injured as a result of the van striking pedestrians in Toronto on Monday. The name of the suspect, who was arrested shortly after the deadly attack, has not yet been released.
* * *
Update 2: Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters there are casualties as a result of today's incident but says the city is in "safe hands."
Ralph Goodale, Canada's minister of public safety, says police are conducting thorough investigation into what happened and why it happened. "Until they can provide us with details, it would be inappropriate to speculate" on whether incident is a terror attack.
Meanwhile, CP24 reported that according to Senior Canadian government sources, the country's terror threat level has not changed and although the RCMP has been looped in, the incident is not yet being treated as a national security investigation.
In separate news, North York General Hospital confirmed to CP24 they have received a number of patients after the incident at Yonge St. and Finch Ave. Extent of injuries is not yet known.
Update: According to Toronto police, the van driver has been arrested, however so far there are no details on age, gender or motive
As reported earlier, 8 to 10 people were hit, police said, though Toronto paramedics put the injured number at closer to five.
A witness said separately that he had seen at least four bodies lying covered on the ground, suggesting at least several fatalities, although a local hospital representative confirmed that so far one person has died and at least several others were injured.
The van, which may have mounted the curb and hit the pedestrians on the sidewalk, was stopped by police, Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu told CBC Toronto. Sidhu added that the police still does not know the cause or reason for the collision.
Meanwhile, as CTVNews reports, witness Alex Shaker, who was driving southbound at the time, says the van was travelling at high speed on the sidewalk.
“He started going down on the sidewalk and crumbling down people one by one,” Shaker told CTV News Channel on Monday afternoon.
Shaker said he saw the vehicle strike someone with a stroller.
“He just destroyed so many people’s lives,” he said. “Every single thing that got in his way.”
The extent of injuries is unknown and ambulances are on the scene. Photos posted online show multiple individuals on the ground.
* *
Witness Phil Zullo, who was driving northbound, says he first noticed the commotion when he saw police taking down a male suspect. Zullo says he continued north, where he saw “shoes and hats flown everywhere.”
A witness named Kash told local news station CP24 that he was having lunch at a Jack Astors restaurant when he came out and saw four bodies on the ground in front of Mel Lastman Square. “People were trying to revive them obviously to no avail,” he said.
“It seems very clearly that the van had hopped the curb and kind of driven on the sidewalk going southbound and hit plenty of people.” Kash said that it was “very traumatic.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go to people that do have family that have been hit,” he said. “There was a guy here who said he followed the van down honking his horn trying to warn people as much as he could.”
* * *
Video shared with CTV News shows the suspect pointing a small, dark object at police, with his back to the van. Police can be seen taking cover behind their vehicle and shouting at him to get down.
“Get down!” the officer is heard shouting. “I have a gun in my pocket,” the suspect can be heard saying.
“Get down or you’ll be shot!” the officer says.
The camera turns away from the confrontation for approximately eight seconds, then looks back to show the suspect on the ground, face-down, with the officer cuffing him.
Another video recorded from a nearby building shows the moment missed in the previous video. The suspect can be seen walking out in the street with the object in his hand still pointed at the officer. After approximately five seconds he drops the weapon, throws out his arms and backs up to the curb.
The van suspected in the collision was found on Poyntz Avenue off of Yonge, just south of Sheppard Avenue West.
The van is marked as belonging to the rental company Ryder, which suggests a London-copycat terrorist attack; recall the van used in the March 2017 deadly attack on London Bridge was also a rental.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau briefly addressed the situation before a session in the House of Commons Monday afternoon.
“Our hearts go out to anyone affected,” Trudeau said. “We’re obviously going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours.”
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The suspect has been described as a "special needs" student who was often isolated and didn't appear to have any friends. Some remarked that they were surprised that he was even able to drive a vehicle. One witnessed described him as often seen walking alone and making "meowing" noises and muttering to himself.
On twitter, the narrative for the driver's motive is being framed as a result of toxic masculinity. According to a recent Facebook post, the suspect described himself an an "incel" (involuntary celibate), group of men who lash out online against women for being rejected.
The CBC explains more about it here...
Of this 6 minute video, much more than half of it is about this rage of resentful "incel" men that have not had success with women. Nothing has been proven about this van killer's motives.
I find this over-emphasis on a "misogynist" motive as possibly disingenuous, misleading, and just falling into the ongoing narrative of "oppressed women": it seems the agenda of the radical left is seeping more and more into the mainstream.
From CNN (Deep State Central News)
Toronto van attack leaves 10 pedestrians dead - CNN'Pandemonium broke loose'
'She's face down on the concrete'
'He died in our arms'
'Prayers for Toronto
In recent years, individuals have driven vehicles into crowds of pedestrians in fatal attacks in major cities including Barcelona, New York, London and Nice, France
angelburst29
The Living Force
My deepest condolences - to the Families that have lost love-one's and to those who are suffering injuries from this mishap.
While reviewing the news reports coming out on this incident, there does seem to be shades of a possible "set-up" and this individual used as a pawn? This guy is described as having mental problems, which begs the question; "Was he on any prescription drugs"?
When looking at the diagram of the van traveling "in a straight line" mowing down people, there's the thought ... would someone who is mentally ill and prone to erratic behavior (often seen walking alone and making "meowing" noises and muttering to himself) be able to maintain complete control of the van while hitting pedestrians in his path? Or was the vans electronics taken over (steering - gas peddle) by outside interference?
Even though the driver's motives have not yet been ascertained, and the police say they still have no proof that he was the author of the pro-incel Facebook post, the UK's Daily Mail continues the 'toxic masculinity' narrative, cementing it even further. I suspect more mainstream media outlets will join in soon.
Who is ‘socially awkward’ Toronto van attack suspect Alek Minassian? | Daily Mail Online
Update: According to this story in Heavy - a FB employee confirmed that the incel message was real and written by the suspect...
Alek Minassian: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com
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angelburst29
The Living Force
The Daily Mail article further states:
* "Elsewhere, a LinkedIn account under Minassian's name revealed him to be a student of Seneca College, in the North York neighborhood where the attack took place.
There, classmates told the Globe and Mail that he was a socially awkward computer studies student.
One person who had worked on a project with Minassian said he appeared to suffer from a social disability, and had physical tics that he struggled to control - shaking his hands and tapping his head." *
Also referenced in the article:
*"'Incel' stands for 'involuntary celibate' and is a term used by a certain group of men who blame their inability to form relationships and have sex on women.
The movement was actually started by a Canadian woman named Alana, who created the Alana's Involuntary Celibacy Project, as she wanted to 'create a movement that was open to anybody and everybody' and said she believed that typical gender norms 'burdened everyone'.
But it was soon taken over by men who felt entitled to sex and angry that women weren't providing it.
Alana told Elle magazine in 2016 she felt: 'Like a scientist who invented something that ended up being a weapon of war, I can't uninvent this word, nor restrict it to the nicer people who need it.'
Incel groups have been accused of inciting violence and misogyny online and numerous communities and subreddits have been banned over their content.
Elliot Rodger, the 22-year-old virgin who massacred six people at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2014, has become something of a poster boy for incels after he blamed his murder spree on the fact that he couldn't persuade women to have sex with him." *
***
I can't speak for anyone else but ... my main focus in this incident ... is of a male driver who jumped a sidewalk and plowed down a number of pedestrians, killing and seriously wounding other's. Reports further state - that he may have mental disabilities and that the Police are not looking at this incident as terrorist-related.
Yet, there seems to be something else in play here - an agenda of sorts, like the main plot of the incident (van driver kills and maims pedestrians) has been "hijacked" to put emphases on a new social twist called "Incel"? This is the "first" I have come across this current term "Incel" and it's associated description "involuntary celibate". (Boy, I would be very interested ... in the Catholic Church's view and commentary on this subject!) But why is this subject (Incel) being promoted, along side , a horrific incident? Would this new social twist have anything to do "with the recent heavy promotion of female sex-dolls" hitting the market? What is really going on here?
From what I'm gathering from Twitter, they are pushing the incel narrative as being part of the alt-right, nazi, reddit/4-chan, misogynist, angry white male loner angle. Here are some relevant samples from my feed this evening...
Arshy Mann @ArshyMann
For the past little while, I've been working on a piece about Toronto's relationship to the alt-right, especially the "manosphere." Unfortunately that research has become relevant. I'm going to share as much as I can here for people who may not be familiar with these movements.
Fox News @FoxNews
Toronto van attack suspect praised 'incel rebellion' for sexually-frustrated men just before deadly rampage
Judd Legum @JuddLegum
It's a virulently misogynistic online community of men who blame women for their involuntary celibacy and occupy many of the same spaces as the far-right
Bess Kalb @bessbell
The raging madness of toxic masculinity killed 10 people in Toronto yesterday. I've spent the past few years sifting through the cesspool of pathetic threats like this on 4chan and this kind of rhetoric gets spewed off every day. I don't have a solution, but here's the problem:
Stable Genius Sean Kent @seankent
Alek Minassian, driver of the van in the Toronto attack, was a sexually frustrated white guy who hated women and minorities. Will all the people who reflexively blamed Muslims, multiculturalism and Trudeau apologize? Probably not.
Qasim Rashid, Esq. @MuslimIQ
Yesterday the #Toronto hashtag was dominated by Islamophobes—slamming Muslims, Islam, & Multi-culturalism.
Turns out this terrorist was a 4chan right-wing extremist angry that women rejected him. Islamophobes are suddenly silent.
Arshy Mann @ArshyMann
Incels often play out violent fantasies online. People who report on the community, like @DavidFutrelle, have been trying to warn us that more incels will turn those fantasies into reality. Even now they're talking about acid attacks & mass rapes.
Right Wing Watch @RightWingWatch
The young man arrested for the Toronto van attack had a post on his Facebook page chock full of slang created in the toxic underbellies of the internet where alt-right extremists have often attempted to court young men.
What is also interesting is the fact that the suspect recently joined the Canadian armed forces last fall, but was kicked out after just 16 days of a 13 weeks program. Sounds like some kind of possible Greenbauming going on here.
Toronto van attack suspect Alek Minassian was quickly in and out of Canadian Forces last fall | CBC News
Thanks for sharing those quotes, @Timótheos. What's amazing about all this is how quickly the media and certain people on social media are suddenly seeing alt-right, toxic masculinity, Islamophobia and all the other slogans attached to what happened yesterday. With the recent G7 summit in Toronto, a focus of which was 'gender equality' and the announcement of a 'female foreign minister's only' summit in September, this seems more than a coincidence seeing as just after that announcement a 'male extremist' that perpetuated toxic masculinity and who hates women and minorities, committed one of the most heinous crimes Toronto has ever seen.
A little more about Alex Minassian from this article:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/know-alex-minassian-arrested-toronto-050146711.html?guccounter=1
A little more about Alex Minassian from this article:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/know-alex-minassian-arrested-toronto-050146711.html?guccounter=1
I think there is probably something like that going on. Toronto is a much weirder city than people realize.
I know somebody in Toronto who only a couple of weeks ago reported to me personally that maybe ten blocks away (a five minute walk from the now infamous stretch of Yonge St.) a man was robbed at an ATM machine, held at gunpoint by assailants wielding an AK-47 automatic rifle! -A detail which I'm still wrapping my head around, and had his wallet, phone and car stolen. At some point he tried to run and shots were fired, leaving bullet holes in the local scenery.
The most unsettling part is that this robbery received essentially zero news coverage. Our guesses as to why this received no news attention -at all- was that perhaps it was felt that copycat crimes were not a desired outcome, (machine gun car robberies?), and/or the assailants were of a race the media is uncomfortable reporting negative news about in this day. In any case, it was extremely weird; it should be understood that North York is an affluent and traditionally peaceful region of Toronto, and Canada has strict control over gun ownership. Machine guns basically shouldn't exist in the wild. I only heard about this event at all due to the pure chance that the person I know reporting it happened to be in the area.
Looking over what I just typed, I realize this sounds somewhat like anecdotal fantasy, but nope:
Toronto Police Service :: News Release #40752
Machine gun robberies in North York. We're in a new reality.
EDIT ***********
Well.., maybe a little anecdotal fantasy. The police report says a Soviet SKS semi-automatic rifle was recovered in the investigation. SKS - Wikipedia
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Parts of North York are affluent, but it's also mixed in lower class sections. I wouldn't call it particularly peaceful, though compared to US cities it's not so bad. In some areas, you can cross the road and go from million dollar homes to low income buildings. But guns are more prevalent than the media lets on. They only have strict control in the sense that there is a lot of red tape to be a legal gun owner - if you register your firearms (that only applies to 'restricted' firearms). Unrestricted ones don't need to be registered but you still need to be licensed to purchase one. It can probably still be traced back but there are many unrestricted that look like automatic weapons. So, yes it's strict but not that strict. There is also quite a lot of gang activity in the city that's also underreported and their main business is guns and drugs. If someone wants to get gun, they'll likely be able to one way or another. That some guys used rifles in a robbery isn't particularly weird to me in Toronto, although is a weird city and seems to be getting worse each year.
I read that and it stuck out for me too. Is it simply coincidence? These things always seem to just happen at the right time. I wonder if there are multiple angles being played out here. I'm waiting to see if increased controls or new Orwellian polices will be rolled out from this 'incident'. Although you'd never really hear about it since Canada has a way of passing bills behind closed doors and people need to dig as they tend to not get the news coverage they should be.
That's the weird part. In the 80's and 90's, the idea of gang activity and automatic weapons in an area like Willowdale would have seemed like pure nonsense. And that's still largely the impression the outside world has of Toronto. People cringe at the idea of "The Big City" but generally consider Toronto "One of The Safest, Cleanest Cities In The World". That's the unofficial tag line beyond Ontario.
The last time I visited, there were points during the day when you could feel the 'beaming' turn on (or perhaps just change to some frequency I was able to sense). I'd been doing a lot of meditation type work at the time, so had become quite sensitive to various electromagnetics and such. My girlfriend at the time was similarly aware and we ended up spending that portion of each day hanging out in the basement of the building we were staying in to escape (or at least minimize) it; like a sub-sub-woofer, but not a noise. It was extremely stressful, and we were amazed that that nobody else seemed to notice it, -though you could see the effect it was having one them. After an hour or two, it would swtich off, (or change to something we weren't aware of).
That town was under some kind of horrid energy treatment the whole couple of weeks I was last there. I'm surprised there aren't more violent crimes, but I'm not surprised that everybody I know from Toronto seems to be stressed in a way I don't think can be associated simply with urban living.