Toronto: Suspect in court today; not issue of national security, says minister

Alek Minassian, the 25-year-old suspect in the van attack on pedestrians in North York in Toronto, China, will appear before the court on Tuesday, April 24, to face charges.

The Toronto Police informed about this in a Twitter post early on Tuesday, April 24. Though the post did not charges against Minassian precisely, it said the details would be provided once Minassian was in the court.

Ten people were killed while 15 were injured after the suspect ran his rented van into the pedestrians over a two kilometre stretch of Yonge Street, between Sheppard Avenue and Finch Avenue on Monday afternoon. Minassian is a man from Richmond Hill, Ontario, and was identified as a student of the local Seneca College from his LinkedIn profile.

The suspect later got off the vehicle and confronted a police officer, asking him to shoot him in the head, The Star reported. He also claimed to have a gun in his pocket. The policeman did not shoot at the suspect, however, and arrested the suspect.

Authorities later said Minnassin's name was not involved in any act of terrorism, making the motive behind Tuesday's attack unclear.

Canada's Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale called the incident "horrendous" but said it did not appear to be connected to national security in any way.