Ten dead, 15 hurt as van strikes pedestrians in Toronto

TORONTO: At least ten people were dead and 16 others wounded after a man plowed rental van into a group of pedestrians at Yonge Street near Finch Ave on Monday. Police claimed to have arrested suspected  driver of the vehicle.

The horrific incident took place in broad daylight near Finch Ave in Toronto around 16 kilometers from a conference center hosting a meeting of G7 ministers, police official said they had no evidence of a link to the event but the driver's act was "deliberate".

As per details, a  white van reportedly  mounted the curb, drove down the sidewalk at southbound Yonge, and struck  numerous pedestrians, killing at least nine people.

 Suspect identified

The driver's act was "deliberate", police chief Mark Saunders said.

The suspect in the Toronto van attack was identified  as a 25-year-old man named Alek Minassian from the city´s north.

Police said both the van and the driver are in custody, and are investigating to know the motive or cause of the incident.

G7 meeting

The incident occurred  when Toronto hosting foreign and public security ministers from the G7 leading industrialized nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Responding to question whether the government had received any threats in wake of the G7 meeting, Canada's minister for public safety, Ralph Goodale said ; "No, not to my knowledge." While Canada's foreign minister said the  meeting would continue as planned, adding, "This is a very sad day for the people of Canada."

"We don't have any information on that point and we need to wait until there´s information before we comment... I will respect the expertise of the security officials," Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne told reporters when asked if the incident was terror-related.

"We are all unsettled and very disturbed by a situation like this, it´s impossible not to be -- it´s frightening."