# Vehicle attack in Toronto **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 23, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997 "2018-04-23T20:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/1 "2018-04-23T20:31:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Toronto cops nabbed the suspected driver who plowed into a group of people on a crowded city street Monday afternoon, leaving several injured and the grim sight of what appeared to be bodies covered by sheets. [source](http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/04/23/van-plows-into-crowd-in-toronto-injuring-several-driver-in-custody-cops-say.html) No official word yet on casualties, but the witness descriptions seem to indicate at least several fatalities. ETA: I don’t want to run afoul of prohibition against political jabs in a breaking news thread, but I find it … interesting … that the subject may have had a gun ([“I have a gun in my pocket,” the suspect can be heard saying](https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/at-least-1-dead-after-van-strikes-people-on-toronto-sidewalk-suspect-arrested-1.3898118)) but apparently used the van to carry out his attack. ETA2: Drudge Report says 9 dead ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/2 "2018-04-23T21:03:54Z")
Yonge St is shut down between Sheppard and Finch. They do not yet know whether it was an accident or a deliberate act, but the driver of the van is in police custody. (I have a job fair tomorrow in one of the buildings overlooking this… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/3 "2018-04-23T21:10:09Z")
Reporting now, 9 dead and it is being regarded as a deliberate act. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/4 "2018-04-23T21:33:15Z")
The [BBC are reporting](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43873804) 9 dead and 16 injured. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/5 "2018-04-23T21:33:36Z")
I’ve only been in Toronto once, and only for a weekend, but I’ve been at that intersection catching the subway into the city. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/6 "2018-04-23T21:43:43Z")
It is looking more and more like a deliberate act. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/7 "2018-04-23T23:22:06Z")
After watching [this video of the suspect’s arrest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA-YD6sTcP4), I strongly lean towards the theory that the “gun” was fake and the suspect was attempting a suicide by cop. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/8 "2018-04-23T23:24:11Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > After watching [this video of the suspect’s arrest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA-YD6sTcP4), I strongly lean towards the theory that the “gun” was fake and the suspect was attempting a suicide by cop. I saw that too. The cop did not shoot. Good. Now we have a suspect. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/9 "2018-04-23T23:26:50Z")
nevermind: might have come across as a political jab. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/10 "2018-04-23T23:28:01Z")
[CBS News says](https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/988529201665007617) the suspect is 25-year-old Alek Minassian ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/11 "2018-04-23T23:39:48Z")
[Here is another video, from a different angle showing the arrest](https://twitter.com/vce7/status/988487471238451201). ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/12 "2018-04-23T23:46:55Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > After watching [this video of the suspect’s arrest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA-YD6sTcP4), I strongly lean towards the theory that the “gun” was fake and the suspect was attempting a suicide by cop. “There’s a gun in my pocket!” “I don’t care, get down!” Wow. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/13 "2018-04-24T00:05:18Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > After watching [this video of the suspect’s arrest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA-YD6sTcP4), I strongly lean towards the theory that the “gun” was fake and the suspect was attempting a suicide by cop. I noticed, he repeatedly makes a motion as if to draw, but is just pointing his fingers. Just his luck, he got a cool customer who was not buying it – when you are cornered like that, shouting “I have a gun!” is pointless: it’s a use it or lose it situation and if you’ve the time to shout the announcement while still pointing only fingers, someone with a high risk tolerance will just call your bluff. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/14 "2018-04-24T00:11:29Z")
I went to high school 2 blocks from there, my parents live about 5 blocks away and I had lunch right there on Friday. I was looking at a Fox News post on Facebook and the trolls are sharpening their pitch forks for Trudeau. This prick could have been born in Canada or immigrated under the Conservatives, but somehow it is all Trudeau’s fault. I’m not getting political, just remarking on the commentators. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/15 "2018-04-24T00:12:33Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I noticed, he repeatedly makes a motion as if to draw, but is just pointing his fingers. Just his luck, he got a cool customer who was not buying it – when you are cornered like that, shouting “I have a gun!” is pointless: it’s a use it or lose it situation and if you’ve the time to shout the announcement while still pointing only fingers, someone with a high risk tolerance will just call your bluff. Only one small correction, I don’t believe it was just his “fingers” he was pointing. He had some dark object in his hand. You can see it pretty clearly in [the ground-level video, from about 0:12 onward](https://youtu.be/LA-YD6sTcP4?t=12s), and he very clearly drops / tosses something in [the skyscraper-angle video at 0:07](https://twitter.com/vce7/status/988487471238451201). ETA: cop was indeed a VERY cool customer ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/16 "2018-04-24T00:16:15Z")
> [@Tee](#): > > “There’s a gun in my pocket!” “I don’t care, get down!” Wow. Toronto cops are still sensitive after a cop was convicted of manslaughter for continuing to shoot Sammy Yatim on a streetcar after he had (legally) been shot and was already dying. That being said, the cop has balls THIS BIG and deserves a commendation. ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/17 "2018-04-24T00:17:43Z")
Yes he does. From Red Sox Nation, @ Blue Jays tomorrow, we’re mourning with you. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/18 "2018-04-24T00:51:08Z")
> [@Tee](#): > > “There’s a gun in my pocket!” “I don’t care, get down!” Wow. From previous threads about the use of deadly force, it appears that Canadian doctrine for police response when presented with a possible weapon situation is stricter than is the case in the US. Not meaning to start a debate or score any political points, just an observation on comparative training. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/19 "2018-04-24T00:56:54Z")
They are now saying that it was not, repeat not, an organized terror attack: Deadly van ‘attack’ not part of organized terror plot, says Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale > **[Deadly van 'attack' not part of organized terror plot, says Public Safety...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-leaders-respond-van-incident-1.4631909)** > > Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the van attack in Toronto that killed 10 people and put another 15 in hospital is not part of a plot that poses a threat to national security. Shared via the CBC News Android App ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997/20 "2018-04-24T01:02:19Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > From previous threads about the use of deadly force, it appears that Canadian doctrine for police response when presented with a possible weapon situation is stricter than is the case in the US. Not meaning to start a debate or score any political points, just an observation on comparative training. I agree. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vehicle-attack-in-toronto/812997.md?page=2)