Van hits pedestrians in Toronto, leaves 9 dead, 16 injured

Nine people are dead and 16 are injured after a van mounted the pavement and allegedly hit a crowd of pedestrians in Toronto on Monday afternoon. The driver has since been apprehended.

According to police, the incident happened around 1:30 p.m. along Yonge Street and Finch Avenue in Toronto. Witnesses said the driver appeared to have acted deliberately as it hit people at high speed for roughly two kilometres. The driver fled the scene but was apprehended later.

Witness Nick Sanka, who was in a Starbucks near the area when the incident happened, told Global News that the van was “definitely speeding.”

“He did seem to have control over what he was doing … so it wasn’t some sort of impairment where he was swerving,” he said. “He just [drove] straight through — and he managed to make a perfect turn at that corner as well.”

Another witness told CNN that the driver hit people one by one on the sidewalk. “He is going 60 to 70 kms on the sidewalk,” the witness said. “This personal was intentional, doing this he was killing everybody.”

Five people from the scene were taken to Sunnybank Hospital. They are said to be in critical condition. Two people were in serious condition and one in fair condition. Two patients taken in were pronounced dead on arrival.

In the video posted on Twitter by CTV News correspondent Michel Boyer, the driver, dressed in black, appears to get out of the van, holding what looks like a gun. He points the object at police but drops it as an officer walks toward him. He turns around with his hands in the air. There was no gunshot heard.

He was subsequently taken into custody. Authorities have yet to release his name.

It is not known if the act could be considered as terrorism. Toronto hasn’t raised its terrorism alert level yet. Cabinet ministers from the G7 countries were in Toronto, about 30 kilometres from where the incident took place, to discuss international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June. There was apparently no noticeable change in the security of the hotel where the delegates are gathered.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they were just learning about the situation. “Our hearts go out to anyone affected,” he said. “Obviously, we’re going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours.”