TORONTO, Canada – Residents in Toronto are feeling heartbreak, disbelief and fury after a man in a Ryder rental van plowed down the sidewalk of one of the busiest streets in the city.
Officials said 10 people were killed and 15 were injured in the attack. A mile-long stretch of Yonge Street is covered in police barricades and crime scene tape as police continue to investigate.
Canadian officials said the suspected driver is Alek Minassian, 25. He is accused of driving 50 mph down the sidewalk on Yonge Street before police caught up to him blocks away.
As he was taken into custody, Minassian asked officers to shoot him, pretending to pull out a gun, police said. Toronto officers didn't shoot him, and he is in custody.
The wreckage left by the attack spans more than a mile.
Toronto police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said the van jumped the curb, but the reason is still unknown.
"At this point it's too early to tell what if any motive there was. We are also unable right now to tell the extent or the number of persons injured," Gray said.
Witness Phil Zullo told Canadian Press he saw police arresting a man who had been driving a Ryder rental truck and saw people "strewn all over the road" where the incident occurred.
"It must have seen about five, six people being resuscitated by bystanders and by ambulance drivers," Zullo said. "It was awful. Brutal."
CTV's Peter Akman reported at least four victims are in critical condition.
"Our hearts go out to everyone affected," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Ottawa shortly after the incident Monday. "We are going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours."