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Hey Davey Hogg! Suspect in Toronto van rampage charged with 10 murder counts, but motive remains unclear TAG: IMMIGRATION
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Brewster
Apr 24, 2018, 6:23:35 PM4/24/18
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Well dumb-assed Davey Hogg?
Are you going to demand that cars be restricted and banned now? You
obsequious little gun-fearing prick?
TORONTO — A 25-year-old suspect accused of mowing down pedestrians
with a van in a busy Toronto shopping district was ordered held
Tuesday on 10 counts of first-degree murder — one for each of the
victims in an attack whose motives remain unclear.
Authorities said Monday’s carnage did not trigger a national security
threat, suggesting it was not initially viewed as having possible
terrorism links.
But investigators have not offered further details on what may have
led the driver to plow his rented van through crowds on a warm spring
afternoon — claiming at least 10 lives and leaving more than a dozen
others injured. Police arrested the suspect at the scene and
identified him as Alek Minassian.
In a Toronto court Tuesday, Minassian wore a white prison jumpsuit
with his hands cuffed behind his back. The judge read the charges,
which also included 13 counts of attempted murder.
Minassian confirmed his name for the court. He then answered “yes”
when asked if he understood a court order not to have any contact with
the victims or their families.
The next hearing was scheduled for May 10. Minassian was ordered held
pending a possible bail hearing.
In the meantime, officials are attempting to piece together the
planning and motives of a suspect who was not previously on any law
enforcement watch lists. Witnesses said the van jumped a curb and
roared through a crowded pedestrian zone in what appeared to be a
deliberate act.
At a news conference Tuesday, Detective Sgt. Graham Gibson said that
“the accused is alleged to have posted a cryptic message on Facebook”
minutes before he began his attack. The Facebook post referred to a
misogynistic online subculture for “involuntarily celibate” men. But
police declined to say whether they were investigating the post, much
less whether they considered it a clue to a possible motive.
Facebook “found and immediately deleted the suspect’s Facebook
account,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement to The
Washington Post. One post, which Facebook confirmed had been posted
from his account shortly before the account was shut down, praised
“Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger,” who killed six people in Santa
Barbara, Calif., in 2014.
Rodger, who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after
the 2014 attack, left behind an extensive digital history, including a
YouTube video in which he vowed a “day of retribution” against the
women who had sexually rejected him. Rodger’s online history indicated
he may have identified himself as an “incel,” or an involuntary
celibate, and of the anti-feminist “manosphere.”
The post on Minassian’s Facebook account contained references to this
online subculture. “The Incel rebellion has already begun!” it read.
“We will overthrow all of the Chads and Stacys!” Incels refer to
popular, sexually attractive people as Chads and Stacys, a term meant
as an insult.
Neither Facebook officials nor police have confirmed that Minassian
wrote the post that appeared on his account. The Washington Post could
not ascertain the exact timing of the post — or whether it was
published when the suspect had access to his account.
Gibson said the victims of Monday’s attack were “predominantly female”
but that he could not say whether they were deliberately targeted. The
first victim to be publicly identified was Anne Marie D’Amico, an
employee at the investment management firm Invesco, which has its
Canadian headquarters on Yonge Street, where the attack occurred.
South Korea’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a tweet that two of its
nationals were killed in the attack, and an official at the Jordanian
embassy in Canada said that one Jordanian was among the dead.
Ontario Chief Coroner Dirk Huyer said at a news conference Tuesday
that identifying the victims was his “number 1 priority,” and he
appealed to the public for help.
At a makeshift memorial set up near the scene of the attack, people
wiped away tears as they left flowers, teddy bears and candles. They
wrote messages of condolence in several languages; others handed out
juice boxes to police officers conducting a forensic investigation at
the scene.
Many of those gathered said they were shocked that the
vehicle-as-weapon attacks that they had seen happen elsewhere could
take place in their own back yards.
Sandra Chartrand, who lives near the location of the attack, said she
arrived roughly half an hour after the incident.
“People were running around hectically, and I watched police officers
cover up some bodies with orange tarps,” she said. “I walk here
everyday, and it will be a constant reminder of what happened.”
Ari Blaff, who went to high school with Minassian at Thornlea
Secondary School north of Toronto, said he was “in disbelief” when he
saw that Minassian was accused of carrying out the attack.
Blaff said that Minassian was quiet and kept to himself but was never
violent. He recalled Minassian repeating that he feared girls but that
he did not remember him being misogynistic.
“We thought it was just strange behavior from a guy in high school,”
Blaff said.
In a news conference Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the
incident was a “senseless attack and a horrific tragedy.”
Trudeau added that the attack “hasn’t changed the overall threat level
in Canada” although it took place as envoys from the Group of Seven
industrialized nations met in Toronto.
Canada’s defense minister confirmed Tuesday that Minassian was a
member of the country’s armed forces for two months beginning in
August 2017. He voluntarily left the service after 16 days of recruit
training, the minister said without providing further details.
Toronto’s police chief identified the driver as Minassian, of Richmond
Hill, Ontario. Minassian, who was not carrying a weapon, was taken
into custody after a showdown in which he brandished an object and
told officers, “Shoot me in the head.”
Police cordoned off a home on Elmsley Drive, a quiet street in the
suburb of Richmond Hill, while they searched for clues. Home property
records show that the home belongs to Vahe and Sona Minassian.
While Canadians are proud of living in a country where crime rates are
generally low and ethnic diversity is celebrated rather than feared,
several terrorism-related incidents in recent years have reminded the
public that Canada is not immune to the kinds of events that have
struck Europe and the United States.
In September, Abdulahi Hasan Sharif was arrested in Edmonton, Alberta,
after two related incidents on the same evening. In the first one,
Sharif, a Somali refugee, is alleged to have rammed into a police
officer who was at a police roadblock near a sports event. He is
alleged to have then stabbed the police officer and escaped. A few
hours later, the same man is alleged to have rammed into four
pedestrians with a rental van. No one was killed, but Sharif faces
multiple counts of attempted murder.
In Quebec City, Alexandre Bissonnette is in court this week for a
sentencing hearing after pleading guilty last month to six counts of
first-degree murder in the shooting of six Muslim men as they attended
prayers at a mosque in the city in January 2017. Bissonnette had
mental health issues and was attracted to far-right politics and
anti-immigrant rhetoric.
And in 2014, Canada’s Parliament was the scene of another
terrorism-related incident. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a drug addict and
convert to Islam, shot and killed a Canadian sentry on duty at the
National War Memorial before heading to Parliament, where he was
killed in a shootout with security officers.
Ohlheiser reported from Washington. Brian Murphy in Washington
contributed to this report.
Read more:
Canadians’ love affair with Justin Trudeau is over
Buying guns is harder in Canada than in the U.S. A new bill would
tighten gun laws even more.
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign
news
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/suspect-in-deadly-toronto-van-rampage-to-face-court-hearing-as-motive-for-attack-remains-unclear/2018/04/24/ef9aa956-474e-11e8-8082-105a446d19b8_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.538c21f269f4
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/suspect-in-deadly-toronto-van-rampage-to-face-court-hearing-as-motive-for-attack-remains-unclear/2018/04/24/ef9aa956-474e-11e8-8082-105a446d19b8_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.538c21f269f4
Are you going to demand that cars be restricted and banned now? You
obsequious little gun-fearing prick?
TORONTO — A 25-year-old suspect accused of mowing down pedestrians
with a van in a busy Toronto shopping district was ordered held
Tuesday on 10 counts of first-degree murder — one for each of the
victims in an attack whose motives remain unclear.
Authorities said Monday’s carnage did not trigger a national security
threat, suggesting it was not initially viewed as having possible
terrorism links.
But investigators have not offered further details on what may have
led the driver to plow his rented van through crowds on a warm spring
afternoon — claiming at least 10 lives and leaving more than a dozen
others injured. Police arrested the suspect at the scene and
identified him as Alek Minassian.
In a Toronto court Tuesday, Minassian wore a white prison jumpsuit
with his hands cuffed behind his back. The judge read the charges,
which also included 13 counts of attempted murder.
Minassian confirmed his name for the court. He then answered “yes”
when asked if he understood a court order not to have any contact with
the victims or their families.
The next hearing was scheduled for May 10. Minassian was ordered held
pending a possible bail hearing.
In the meantime, officials are attempting to piece together the
planning and motives of a suspect who was not previously on any law
enforcement watch lists. Witnesses said the van jumped a curb and
roared through a crowded pedestrian zone in what appeared to be a
deliberate act.
At a news conference Tuesday, Detective Sgt. Graham Gibson said that
“the accused is alleged to have posted a cryptic message on Facebook”
minutes before he began his attack. The Facebook post referred to a
misogynistic online subculture for “involuntarily celibate” men. But
police declined to say whether they were investigating the post, much
less whether they considered it a clue to a possible motive.
Facebook “found and immediately deleted the suspect’s Facebook
account,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement to The
Washington Post. One post, which Facebook confirmed had been posted
from his account shortly before the account was shut down, praised
“Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger,” who killed six people in Santa
Barbara, Calif., in 2014.
Rodger, who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after
the 2014 attack, left behind an extensive digital history, including a
YouTube video in which he vowed a “day of retribution” against the
women who had sexually rejected him. Rodger’s online history indicated
he may have identified himself as an “incel,” or an involuntary
celibate, and of the anti-feminist “manosphere.”
The post on Minassian’s Facebook account contained references to this
online subculture. “The Incel rebellion has already begun!” it read.
“We will overthrow all of the Chads and Stacys!” Incels refer to
popular, sexually attractive people as Chads and Stacys, a term meant
as an insult.
Neither Facebook officials nor police have confirmed that Minassian
wrote the post that appeared on his account. The Washington Post could
not ascertain the exact timing of the post — or whether it was
published when the suspect had access to his account.
Gibson said the victims of Monday’s attack were “predominantly female”
but that he could not say whether they were deliberately targeted. The
first victim to be publicly identified was Anne Marie D’Amico, an
employee at the investment management firm Invesco, which has its
Canadian headquarters on Yonge Street, where the attack occurred.
South Korea’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a tweet that two of its
nationals were killed in the attack, and an official at the Jordanian
embassy in Canada said that one Jordanian was among the dead.
Ontario Chief Coroner Dirk Huyer said at a news conference Tuesday
that identifying the victims was his “number 1 priority,” and he
appealed to the public for help.
At a makeshift memorial set up near the scene of the attack, people
wiped away tears as they left flowers, teddy bears and candles. They
wrote messages of condolence in several languages; others handed out
juice boxes to police officers conducting a forensic investigation at
the scene.
Many of those gathered said they were shocked that the
vehicle-as-weapon attacks that they had seen happen elsewhere could
take place in their own back yards.
Sandra Chartrand, who lives near the location of the attack, said she
arrived roughly half an hour after the incident.
“People were running around hectically, and I watched police officers
cover up some bodies with orange tarps,” she said. “I walk here
everyday, and it will be a constant reminder of what happened.”
Ari Blaff, who went to high school with Minassian at Thornlea
Secondary School north of Toronto, said he was “in disbelief” when he
saw that Minassian was accused of carrying out the attack.
Blaff said that Minassian was quiet and kept to himself but was never
violent. He recalled Minassian repeating that he feared girls but that
he did not remember him being misogynistic.
“We thought it was just strange behavior from a guy in high school,”
Blaff said.
In a news conference Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the
incident was a “senseless attack and a horrific tragedy.”
Trudeau added that the attack “hasn’t changed the overall threat level
in Canada” although it took place as envoys from the Group of Seven
industrialized nations met in Toronto.
Canada’s defense minister confirmed Tuesday that Minassian was a
member of the country’s armed forces for two months beginning in
August 2017. He voluntarily left the service after 16 days of recruit
training, the minister said without providing further details.
Toronto’s police chief identified the driver as Minassian, of Richmond
Hill, Ontario. Minassian, who was not carrying a weapon, was taken
into custody after a showdown in which he brandished an object and
told officers, “Shoot me in the head.”
Police cordoned off a home on Elmsley Drive, a quiet street in the
suburb of Richmond Hill, while they searched for clues. Home property
records show that the home belongs to Vahe and Sona Minassian.
While Canadians are proud of living in a country where crime rates are
generally low and ethnic diversity is celebrated rather than feared,
several terrorism-related incidents in recent years have reminded the
public that Canada is not immune to the kinds of events that have
struck Europe and the United States.
In September, Abdulahi Hasan Sharif was arrested in Edmonton, Alberta,
after two related incidents on the same evening. In the first one,
Sharif, a Somali refugee, is alleged to have rammed into a police
officer who was at a police roadblock near a sports event. He is
alleged to have then stabbed the police officer and escaped. A few
hours later, the same man is alleged to have rammed into four
pedestrians with a rental van. No one was killed, but Sharif faces
multiple counts of attempted murder.
In Quebec City, Alexandre Bissonnette is in court this week for a
sentencing hearing after pleading guilty last month to six counts of
first-degree murder in the shooting of six Muslim men as they attended
prayers at a mosque in the city in January 2017. Bissonnette had
mental health issues and was attracted to far-right politics and
anti-immigrant rhetoric.
And in 2014, Canada’s Parliament was the scene of another
terrorism-related incident. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a drug addict and
convert to Islam, shot and killed a Canadian sentry on duty at the
National War Memorial before heading to Parliament, where he was
killed in a shootout with security officers.
Ohlheiser reported from Washington. Brian Murphy in Washington
contributed to this report.
Read more:
Canadians’ love affair with Justin Trudeau is over
Buying guns is harder in Canada than in the U.S. A new bill would
tighten gun laws even more.
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign
news
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/suspect-in-deadly-toronto-van-rampage-to-face-court-hearing-as-motive-for-attack-remains-unclear/2018/04/24/ef9aa956-474e-11e8-8082-105a446d19b8_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.538c21f269f4
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/suspect-in-deadly-toronto-van-rampage-to-face-court-hearing-as-motive-for-attack-remains-unclear/2018/04/24/ef9aa956-474e-11e8-8082-105a446d19b8_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.538c21f269f4
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