Alek Minassian was a member of the forces from Aug. 23, 2017 until Oct. 25

Officials say the man accused in a van attack that left 10 people dead in Toronto on Monday was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces for two months last year.

A spokeswoman with the Department of National Defence says Alek Minassian was a member of the forces from Aug. 23, 2017 until Oct. 25.

She says Minassian did not complete his recruit training and asked to be voluntarily released after 16 days.

The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., was charged on Tuesday with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.

Ten people were killed and 15 people injured after a van mounted a sidewalk in north Toronto on Monday afternoon.

More to come.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> Police have identified Alek Minassian, 25, a resident of Richmond Hill, Ont. as the suspect of the deadly van attack in Toronto which killed ten people and injured at least 15 others.

The rented white Ryder van climbed on a sidewalk curb and drove into pedestrians in north Toronto’s busy Yonge Street as many people typically were out having lunch. The path of the deadly van attack stretched for nearly one kilometre. The police arrested him after he’d left his vehicle, attempted to flee the scene and was briefly confronted by police.

Here is everything we know:

Van attacker appeared to want police to shoot him

He pointed what appeared to be a gun in his hand. Despite numerous threats from the suspect warning that he had a gun in his pocket and aiming a dark object at the officer, the police officer who confronted him didn’t fire his sidearm, which was praised by law enforcement and people following the story.

A tow truck driver who witnessed the confrontation told CityNews that the officer repeatedly told the suspect to “drop it” while the suspect responding by yelling, “kill me.” Eventually, the suspect dropped the object and laid down on the sidewalk. He was quickly was taken into handcuffs and arrested.

The motive for the attack isn’t known at this time but did appear to be deliberate.

Minassian appeared in a North York court Tuesday morning and was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder. Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said that it was still too early to suggest a motive but told reporters that, “the city is safe.”

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters that the events were “horrendous”, there was no threat to national security, on Monday night. Prime Minister Trudeau echoed those same sentiments while responding to reporters Monday morning.

On Monday night, Toronto Police had begun investigating the home of the alleged van attacker in Richmond Hill, Ont.

A LinkedIn profile identified Minassian as a Seneca College student from 2011 to 2018, which was relatively close to where the attack took place. The social networking site also described him as focused on computer science.

On the Google Play Store, an app designed to help people find parking spots in the Toronto area has Minassian listed as its developer.

He was described as socially awkward and possibly suffering from a mental or social disability by three of his former classmates, The Globe and Mail reported. He was also never seen as someone with any violent tendencies or religious or political affiliations or strong views on anything.

NBC News reported that Minassian had allegedly researched and spoke online about the 2014 Isla Vista massacre in California, where 22-year-old Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured 14 others.

One of the victims identified as Anne Marie D’Amico

While police have been asking the public for help in identifying victims, City News is reporting that Anne Marie D’Amico, an Invesco employee at a U.S.-based investment management firm was one of the victims.

She was one of the people taken to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre but pronounced dead in hospital.

D’Amico had worked with Tennis Canada and the Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto which posted tributes for her. A GoFundMe page had been set up for all of the victims and has raised over $15,000 by Tuesday morning.

More to come.
• Toronto van attack witnesses recall the horror: ‘Hit and go, hit and go. It didn’t stop’ </s> A driver suspected of killing 10 people and injuring 15 more by ploughing a rental van into pedestrians in Toronto has appeared in court in the city.

Alek Minassian, 25, was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.

Mr Minassian wore a white jumpsuit, with a shaved head and his hands behind his back. He showed little emotion.

He was read the charges and ordered to have no contact with surviving victims. He will return to court on 10 May.

A man believed to be a relative of Mr Minassian's sat in the front row of the court and wept. Asked by reporters after the hearing if he had anything to say, the man replied "sorry".

Mr Minassian's court appearance came shortly after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed reporters in the city, calling the incident a "senseless attack and a horrific tragedy".
• How is Toronto attack suspect not dead?
• What we know about Alek Minassian

The suspect was arrested several blocks from the scene of the attack, after a tense standoff with a police officer, during which he pointed an object at the officer and claimed to have a gun.

"I don't care. Get down," the officer said, before arresting Mr Minassian without firing a shot. The arrest was filmed by two bystanders and the officer was praised for not opening fire.

Mr Trudeau praised the police response, saying officers "faced danger without a moment of hesitation".

How did the incident unfold?

Police said the suspect in the van mounted the kerb on Yonge Street between Finch Avenue and Sheppard Avenue at about 13:30 local time (17:30 GMT) on Monday and drove into pedestrians along a 1km (0.6-mile) stretch.

Reza Hashemi, who owns a video shop on Yonge Street, told the BBC he heard screaming on the other side of the road. He said the van was repeatedly mounting the pavement and running into people.
• 'It was awful': What eyewitnesses saw

One witness told City News that the driver was "hitting anything that comes in the way".

"People, fire hydrants, there's mail boxes being run over," said the unnamed man, who said he was driving behind the van during the incident.

As the van continued, the man said he sounded his horn to try to warn pedestrians. "I witnessed at least six, seven people being hit and flying in the air, like killed, on the street," he said.

Pictures from the scene showed bodies covered in orange sheets along the van's route. Debris and items of clothing were scattered across the pavements and road.

The van was brought to a halt by police several streets away and was quickly surrounded. The suspect was arrested 26 minutes after the first emergency call was made to the police.

What is known of the suspect?

Police say Mr Minassian is from the northern Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill and was not previously known to authorities. "The actions definitely looked deliberate," said Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders.

Public safety minister Ralph Goodale said there "would appear to be no national security connections" and Canadian broadcaster CBC cited government officials as saying Mr Minassian was not associated with any known terror groups.

Facebook has deleted Mr Minassian's account, but a copy of a post has emerged said to have been written by the suspect shortly before the attack on Monday.

Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper and CBC network said Facebook had confirmed the authenticity of the post. The BBC has not independently verified it.

The post praises Elliott Rodger, a 22 year old from California who killed six people with his car in 2014.

The post reads: "The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!"

The term "incel" refers to a now-banned group on the message site Reddit where young men discussed their lack of sexual activity and attractiveness to women - often blaming women for the problem.

"Chads and Stacys" refers to attractive men and women who are perceived as better than or unavailable to "incels", which is short for "involuntary celibate".

Mr Minassian had previously attended a school for students with special needs in north Toronto, former classmates said.

He would be seen walking around Thornlea Secondary School with his head down and hands clasped tightly together making meowing noises, Shereen Chami told Reuters.

But she said Mr Minassian had not been violent. "He wasn't a social person, but from what I remember he was absolutely harmless," she told Reuters.

Another former student, Ari Bluff, told CBC that Minassian did not seem to have many friends. "I remember seeing him probably just walking down the halls, usually by himself, or in the cafeteria by himself," he said.

Mr Minassian went on to attend Seneca College in the North York area of Toronto, where the van incident took place, CBC reported. Reporter James Moore, with Newtalk 1010, told the BBC he had heard reports that Mr Minassian was regarded as being "quite brilliant".

The Globe and Mail quotes a fellow student as saying Minassian was good at working with specialised computer chips used to process images.

Who were the victims?

So far, the name of only one of those who died has emerged. She has been identified as Anne-Marie D'Amico, who worked for the US investment company, Invesco, CBC reports. The company's Canadian headquarters are on Yonge Street.

A South Korean foreign ministry official told AFP news agency that two of its citizens were among the dead.

The 15 injured remain in hospitals throughout Toronto.

What else is known?

Van rental company Ryder System Inc confirmed that one of its vehicles was involved and said it was co-operating with authorities.

The incident happened while foreign ministers of the G7 leading industrialised nations - Canada, the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan - were holding talks in Toronto.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the G7 meetings would continue on Tuesday as planned. "The work of the ministers obviously goes on. This is a very sad day for the people of Toronto and the people of Canada," she said.

City Mayor John Tory urged residents to remain calm. "This kind of tragic incident is not representative of how we live or who we are or anything to do with life in the city on a day-to-day basis," he said.

The White House issued a statement saying the US "stands with the Canadian people" and offering "any support Canada may need".

Did you witness the attack? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
• Send an SMS or MMS to 61124 or +44 7624 800 100 </s> Twenty-five-year-old Alek Minassian is allegedly responsible for an attack in north Toronto that killed 10 people and injured 15 others, police said Monday.

Minassian lived in Richmond Hill, Ont., a suburb north of the city, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters at a press conference. He was arrested 26 minutes after police received the first 911 call about pedestrians being mowed down by a van, Saunders said.

Video obtained by Storyful appears to show Minassian pointing something at police and asking to be shot.

'Shoot me in the head'

In the footage, a man can be seen pointing an object at a police officer, who yells, "Get down!"

"I have a gun in my pocket," the man appears to say.

"I don't care ... Get down or you'll be shot," the officer responds.

"Shoot me in the head," the man says.

Saunders praised the officer for arresting Minassian without incident.

"The officers here are taught to use as little force as possible in any given situation," Saunders said. ​​​​"The officer did a fantastic job ... and had a peaceful resolution at the end of the day."

Saunders said there was nothing to indicate that Minassian actually had a gun. He was not known to police.

Saunders wouldn't call the attack terrorism but also said that investigators were not ruling it out. Minassian ran down pedestrians on purpose, Saunders said.

"It's very clear from a general perspective that the actions were deliberate."

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale called the attack horrendous, and said it was not related to national security. He previously said there is no information indicating that the Canada's terrorism threat level should be raised.

With files from The Canadian Press </s> The suspected driver of a van which ploughed into pedestrians in Canada, leaving 10 people dead and injuring 15 others, has been charged with 10 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.

Alek Minassian appeared in a Toronto courtroom on Tuesday where he was charged.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has dismissed the possibility of terrorism, saying that authorities see no national security element in what happened.

Moreover, the case has not been turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a sign that investigators believe that it is unlikely that terrorism was the motive.

However, no other motives or causes have been disclosed by authorities, although the city's police chief said the "incident definitely looked deliberate".

Minassian, 25, who lives in the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill, had not been known to police previously.

An online social media profile described him as a college student.

Following the rental van incident at around 1.30pm local time (6.30pm BST) on Monday, the driver attempted to flee the scene but was arrested shortly afterwards by police.

Witnesses at the scene said the van was moving fast and appeared to be deliberately trying to hit people.

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. </s> A video from the scene of Alek Minassian’s arrest appears to show him threaten a police officer with what may be a gun after he allegedly killed 10 pedestrians with a white van on April 23. Watch the shocking video here.

Alek Minassian, 25, indulged in a majorly intense standoff with police before he was arrested as a suspect in the Toronto van attack on April 23. Footage obtained by CTV shows an officer coming face-to-face with Alek just in front of the white van that he used to allegedly commit the horrific attack. The face-off between officer and suspect goes on for at least a minute before Alek is finally pinned to the ground and handcuffed. Before that, though, he is seen waving an unidentified object at the officer, who warns the suspect, “Get down or you’ll get shot!” several times.

Officials have not identified what the object in Alek’s hand was, but Toronto Police Chief, Mark Saunders, confirmed that there is “nothing that indicates” that the suspect had a gun. The officer who came face-to-face with Alek, and eventually arrested him, has been praised for remaining calm and not shooting at the suspect. “I can tell you it’s directly related to the high caliber training that takes place,” Chief Saunders said. “The officers here are taught to use as little forces as possible in any given situation. Through the training, the officer did a fantastic job with respect to his ability to understanding the circumstance and the environment and having a peaceful resolution at the end of the day.”

Ten are dead and 15 are left injured after the white rental van plowed down a group of innocent pedestrians on Yonge Street in Toronto. The van was reportedly traveling between 60-70 mph during the horrific collision, and police have confirmed that they believe the act to be “deliberate.” </s> (CNN) — Toronto police have their suspect — but they’re still looking for a motive.

Alek Minassian, the man accused of plowing into pedestrians with a van Monday, was charged Tuesday with 10 counts of first-degree murder.

The 25-year-old is also charged with 13 counts of attempted murder.

Minassian, who was wearing a white jumpsuit with his hands cuffed behind him, appeared attentive during the brief hearing. His next court appearance will be a bail hearing on May 10.

Investigators are still trying to determine the motive behind the attack, which left 10 people dead and 15 hurt.

“Obviously all Canadians continue and will continue to have questions about why this happened, what could possibly be the motive behind it,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.

So far, officials aren’t calling the attack an act of terrorism. “There would appear to be no national security connection,” Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said.

But Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said: “it’s very clear just from a general perspective to say that the actions definitely look deliberate.”

The van sped down a busy street Monday with reckless abandon, swerving into the wrong lanes of traffic and careening onto a sidewalk.

Minassian was arrested in a white rental van less than 30 minutes after police received a 911 call, Saunders said.

He said Toronto authorities hadn’t had previous contact with the 25-year-old suspect. But a US law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said Minassian was known to authorities.

Investigators found a Facebook account they believe belongs to Minassian, CNN law enforcement analyst Josh Campbell said.

A message posted on the account earlier Monday read: “All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!”

Campbell said investigators believe the post refers to the man who killed six and injured 14 in a drive-by shooting and vehicle ramming attack near the University of California Santa Barbara campus in 2014. Rodger later died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Investigators said Rodger was motivated to carry out his attack by a personal grievance related to his immersion in the extremist ideological subculture of men’s rights activists, who believe women don’t actually want gender equality and have been brainwashed by feminist propaganda.

Authorities said Minassian left a trail of destruction nearly a mile long, north of midtown Toronto.

“Based on witness accounts, we have a vehicle that started north on Yonge Street from Finch (Avenue) and drove southbound at some point in times on sidewalks, at some point in times driving southbound in northbound lanes,” Saunders said, adding that it appeared to be a deliberate act.

DawaNet, a Canadian Muslim organization, started a GoFundMe page aiming to raise $1 million for the victims and their families. By Tuesday afternoon, the fund had raised more than $55,000.

Diego DeMatos was one of the good Samaritans who tried to save victims.

DeMatos said he was driving north on Yonge when he saw the van driving fast southbound. He said he saw the van hit a man and a woman.

“Blood started gushing out of his head, and she was bleeding really badly, too,” DeMatos told CNN.

At first, he thought the collision was a hit-and-run. But then he noticed four to five victims on the ground as he drove a few meters further.

DeMatos said he stopped to help another victim, who was already being aided by someone.

“I went over to try to perform CPR on him. … He died in our arms,” DeMatos said.

“It was like a scene from a war zone. There were garbage cans everywhere, broken bus shelters and mailboxes on the ground.”

Cell phone video obtained by CNN partner CTV appears to show a tense standoff with a suspect after the incident. Police have not said whether the person in the video was Minassian.

The footage appears to show a man standing in front of a white van with a damaged front bumper. The man is yelling and extending one arm, pointing an object at an officer standing behind a black car.

The officer has his weapon drawn and pointed at the man. The officer slowly steps toward him and yells “Get down, get down!”

Later in the video, the man is seen on the ground and the officer is cuffing his hands behind him; the object can be seen lying on the ground off to the side.

As for whether the suspect had a weapon, “There’s nothing that indicates he has a gun,” Saunders said.

Trudeau offered his condolences to the families of the victims. He thanked first responders, who he said “faced danger without hesitation and their efforts no doubt saved lives and prevented further injuries.” </s> Little appears to be known about the man now facing 10 charges of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder after a van drove into pedestrians on Yonge Street in Toronto’s north end.

Alek Minassian, 25, made a brief court appearance in a Toronto courtroom Tuesday morning to hear the charges against him. He appeared to understand what was happening and spoke softly to the duty counsel lawyer representing him.

Police have said Minassian was not known to them before this incident and he has no criminal record. He also appears to have little social media presence.

A LinkedIn page lists the Richmond Hill, Ont., resident as a student at Seneca College in Toronto, enrolled between 2011 and 2018.

He is also listed as a research assistant in a software development project on a Seneca website.

Toronto police are now conducting a search of the Richmond Hill home where he lived.

One neighbour told CTV News that his daughter had gone to the same high school as Minassian and said that he had had problems and needed “a special teacher.”

Minassian was arrested after a brief standoff with a lone police officer, not far from where a van killed 10 people. Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters Monday night that, while the man they arrested insisted he had a gun, no gun was found.

Saunders said it was too early to suggest a motive for the incident, which he said “looks intentional.”

“We have to look at whether he was working in concert with anyone else,” Saunders said.

"…We are looking very strongly to what the exact motivation was for this particular incident to take place," he said.

"At the end of the day, we will have a fulsome answer, and we will have a fulsome account as to what the conclusion of this is."

Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Tuesday that the investigation is underway and there has been no evidence to suggest the attack was related to terrorism.

"The events that took place ... in Toronto were a senseless attack and a horrific tragedy," Trudeau told parliamentary reporters in Ottawa, extending the government's condolences to the victims and their families.

Goodale, speaking in Toronto, said the investigation underway is still in its early hours, “but thus far there is no discernible connection to national security in the incident last evening.” </s> The suspect in a devastating van attack in Toronto that left 10 people dead and another 15 injured has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder as investigators in Canada continue to piece together his motivations, the CBC reports. Just before 1:30 pm on Monday, police say 25-year-old Alek Minassian drove a rental Ryder cargo van onto the sidewalk at the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue in the North York neighborhood of Toronto. He then continued south for at least a half a mile, mowing down pedestrians "one by one" and leaving a trail of carnage in his wake, a horrified witness told the New York Times.

On Tuesday, the first victim of the attack was formally identified: Anne Marie D'Amico, an employee at an investment firm whose headquarters are located along that fateful stretch of road. A colleague told the CBC that she was "always smiling" and "a very warm, friendly presence," while a friend wrote on Facebook that D'Amico was "a rock, a champion, a soldier, a nurturer, a friend... what we all needed, when we needed it." Minassian then allegedly pulled the van to a stop and engaged in a tense standoff with a Toronto police officer that was captured on video by another witness. In the clip, the suspect is standing in front of the damaged van and pointing an object at the officer, yelling for police to kill him.

When it becomes clear that's not going to happen—Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters that his officers are taught to use "as little force as possible," and that the object in his hands wasn't a gun—he appears to surrender and is taken into custody.

As officials continue the grim, heartbreaking work of identifying all the victims and rebuilding a city's shattered peace, attention has swung to the motivations behind the deadly rampage. A resident of nearby Richmond Hill and a student at a local college, Minassian was reportedly "unknown" to Canadian law enforcement prior to Monday's attack. Fellow students told the BBC that he kept to himself and occasionally acted out in strange ways, but that he ultimately seemed harmless.

According to Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, there are "no national security connections" to this incident, and authorities don't believe Minassian was connected to any domestic or foreign terror groups. On Tuesday, a report emerged that Minassian had written a Facebook post just before the attack in support of American spree killer Elliot Rodger, who killed six people in Isla Vista, California in 2014 over his alleged rejection by women and society.
Alek Minassian appears in court in Toronto charged with ten murders and thirteen attempted murders.