Toronto van incident: death toll rises to 10 and suspect named – live updates

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, the Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, and former Canadian PM Stephen Harper are among those who have expressed condolences to Canada and the people of Toronto.

The Toronto Star has published an editorial, praising the city’s residents and authorities for their responses to the tragic event.

Police “stuck to the facts”, and the public “by and large also refused to indulge in finger-pointing or blame-throwing”, it said. There was no over-reaction, in particular by the arresting officer.

This confrontation could easily have ended in yet another death, and it must have taken remarkable restraint to avoid shooting in the heat of such a charged moment. The driver is alive to face justice and, just as important for the public good, to give his own explanation of why he inflicted this horror.

All this speaks very well of the city we call home. We cannot prevent all violence in our midst; there will always be individuals who lash out for personal or political reasons and take innocent life. But we can do something about how we react collectively when we come under attack.

It would have been all too easy for things to have turned very ugly very quickly in the wake of Monday’s attack.

Police have set up a web portal for witnesses to share videos and photos of the incident.

A quick summary of that press conference, where we heard from the police chief, Mark Saunders, the premier, Kathleen Wynne, the minister of public safety, Ralph Goodale, and the Toronto mayor, John Tory.

The death toll has now risen to 10, with 15 people injured after the man - now named as 25-year-old Alek Menassian – drove off the road and into a number of pedestrians over the course of several kilometres at about 1.30pm.

The majority of victims have not yet been identified.

While the actions “definitely look deliberate” police have not identified any motivation. There is nothing to link the act with any national security situation and the city is safe, they said.

Police are calling for witnesses to contact them using a dedicated hotline or web portal.

Some further points from the press conference:

• Authorities are assessing Canada’s threat level, but the city is safe, says Saunders.
  
• The majority of victims have not yet been identified.
  
• Toronto police are leading the homicide investigations, but they are working in concert with federal and provincial counterparts.
  

Saunders is being asked about a range of possible motivations but will not be drawn on any of them. The investigation is ongoing.

Charges have not been laid yet.

Saunders praises the training of Canadian police to use as little force as possible, when asked about the peaceful arrest of Alek Minassian.

Kathleen Wynne, premier of Ontario, praises the first responders for a professional and comprehensive response.

She says the outreach from across the country has been “outstanding”.

“People across the country are thinking about what’s happening here in Toronto, thinking about the families and the victims.”

Toronto mayor, John Tory, says he hopes for people who live in Toronto “this tragic incident is not representative of how we live or who we are or anything to do with how we live in this city on a day-to-day basis”.

He hoped people would “carry on – with heavy hearts – but carry on”. Tory calls for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the police.

Police a short time ago sent out the following message:

Anyone with information is asked to please call the investigative hotline at 416-808-8750. A web portal has been opened for anyone who is able to submit photos and/or videos of the incident, please click here.

Police are also asking the public to please refrain from calling 911 unless they are in a life or death emergency.

More than six hours after the incident bodies remain in the street, covered in bright orange tarps, reports Leyland Cecco from the scene.

An impromptu memorial had already been set up less than 50m from one of the victims.

“It could’ve been anybody,” said Konstantin Goulich, who has lived across the street for 15 years. “We live in a unified society. And people’s support and outpouring of grief is evidence of this.”

A short time ago a playoffs game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins opened with tributes to victims of the fatal incident.

CBC has spoken to a number of eyewitnesses.

“I just came out from a subway station and I saw a crazy van, a rental van, hitting people one after one,” said one man. “I saw an old man going up and going down. The people were screaming and going around. He drove really fast.”

Taxi driver Nana Agyeman-Badu described one woman being hit at a bus stop. He and another driver stopped. “The two of us were trying to help her, telling her she’s going to be OK.”

Citing government officials, CBC says the driver is not associated with any known terrorist organisations. We are working to confirm that.

A press conference will be held in about 15 minutes.

Toronto councillor John Filion represents the Willowdale neighbourhood in north Toronto, where the attack occurred. He spoke to CBC a littler earlier.

“It’s just a shock that it could happen in our city, that it could happen anywhere in our city,” he said.

“The area I represent is, you know, very harmonious. We have people from all over the world and everybody gets along very well. You know, you rarely even encounter an angry person in the area.

“It’s just, you know, incomprehensible.”

Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, spoke to media a little earlier.

“I’ve been briefed by the provincial security advisor and what I want people to know is that all levels of government and police services are working together. The OPP, the RCMP, and the Toronto police service, all levels are working together and the information is flowing among those organisations,” she said.

“There is no gap there and I will continue to get updates.”