A van plows down a sidewalk killing at least 9 pedestrians. Appears to be intentional. Anyone heard from @alwaysamom?
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/23/world/toronto-collision-pedestrians/index.html
Just saw an interview - sounds simply terrible. They got the guy but not until an armed standoff- that video looks crazy. I can’t believe the police officer used so much restraint. And their were people walking right behind the guy!
Just plain awful.
Editing to say it’s not clear if the guy had a gun in the standoff - definitely holding something like a gun, but they are questioning that.
@alwaysamom posted on CC today (Tuesday) at 3 something. This event happened Monday. Still hope she is ok…and those she knows are as well.
I’m not going to edit out my day goof…but sheesh! Sorry!!
Isn’t today Monday?
Yes, this event happened TODAY. This afternoon.
I’m so confused! Thought today was Tuesday!
Oh heavens…hope @alwaysamom is OK!
This happened right outside the SIL’s office. Luckily he is working downtown at another office today. Another friend also works right around there. She said there are police everywhere and roads are blocked. That is a very busy area with a lot of government offices and high rise buildings.
I worked with a Toronto client for 2 years, worrying today about all my co-workers and their families. Their headquarters are only a couple blocks off the street where this happened. 
Oh, this is so sad. I visited a friend in Toronto a couple of years ago - a bunch of us, including @MomofWildChild, ran races downtown. It’s the friendliest, coolest town. I’m sad for all of them.
Always was on a few hours ago so hoping she’s fine.
My favorite music station broadcasts out of Windsor. The sadness was just overwhelming in the broadcaster’s voices today.
They’ve released his name and picture.
Amidst all the tragedy and terror in Toronto today I want to share this :
Toronto van attack: The cop who didn’t shoot
Scott Gilmore: Amidst the chaos and horror, a Toronto police officer calmly faced down the driver. It’s a moment we should remember.
"…I am paid to explain things and sound confident doing so. But I honestly don’t know what to make of this terrifying, remarkable moment. A man may have just killed many people. He rushed out of his van, which could have been a bomb. He pointed what looked like a weapon. And yet this police officer did not shoot.
At any point if the cop had fired and killed the suspect, the public, his peers, the press, even the driver himself, everyone would have understood. In fact, we likely would have called him a hero.
What held his finger? Bravery? Training? Compassion? Perhaps we will find out in the days ahead. But whatever it is, it deserves attention.
It is easy to take a life. A quick turn of the steering wheel and nine people are gone. A small amount of pressure on the trigger, and the suspect is dead. We kill each other out of hate, or fear, or ignorance, or duty. Sadly, we understand this instinct well. This is the dark side of humanity. And rightly, we are mesmerized by the horror of it.
But there is light inside us too. We also possess the instinct to keep each other alive. This part of us can be more difficult to understand. But it deserves our devotion much more than the act of killing does. These moments of humanity are not uncommon, but they are precious. It would be good if we could remember that about Toronto, remember the cop who didn’t shoot."
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/toronto-van-attack-the-cop-who-didnt-shoot/
Re: #10
Perhaps the lower crime and violence level in Canada means that police and everyone else are less trigger happy, because it is less likely that someone has a real gun and is about to use it?
There was a notorious case in Toronto a few years ago of the police shooting, tasing and killing a man armed with a knife. The police officer who shot the man was found guilty of attempted murder. He is serving 6 years in a federal prison. I’m sure the Sammy Yatim case is on the minds of Toronto police officers when they feel the need to draw their weapons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Sammy_Yatim
They are saying it wasn’t a terror attack?
Thank you everyone for your thoughts. I’m fine and, as far as I know, everyone I know is fine. The city is deeply affected by this. We were at the Leafs playoff game last night, which is why I didn’t see this until thread until this morning. The police presence downtown (which is miles and miles from where the horror happened) was like nothing I’ve ever seen in the city before. There is an area outside the Air Canada Centre, the Leafs arena, called Maple Leaf Square, where the team sets up a large viewing screen, concessions, entertainment, etc., for fans who don’t have tickets to the game. Concrete barricades had been set up surrounding it and the adjoining areas. Many streets had been complete closed down and there were probably hundreds of offices around the perimeter as well as within.
There was a moment of silence held before the game and I think the fact that the game was against the Bruins made this even more poignant. After the Humboldt Broncos bus crash tragedy a few weeks ago, Canada has been in mourning and that will continue.
@intparent I hope your clients are all fine. Yonge Street runs from Lake Ontario through the entire city and north to Bradford, Ontario. Chances are good that this wasn’t anywhere near them.
@munchkin Thanks for posting that about the police officer. He showed incredible courage and patience. With the man shouting at him to shoot him in the head, I can only imagine how much restraint he showed.
@MYOS1634 As far as I know, all they have said so far is that this individual was not on any police or security radar. The Toronto Police Services, the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP are all involved in the investigation. They don’t tend to jump to conclusions quickly here, which in my opinion, is a good thing. Yesterday, CBS was reporting a name of the driver of the van and they initially got it wrong, having an incorrect spelling. This caused U.S. media and social media everywhere to harass a young man who had nothing at all to do with this tragedy, for several hours before correcting it.
Again, thank you all for your thoughts.
Thank you so much for the report. I’m glad you and all you know are fine.
Vehicle attacks are truly horrible and sickening in a different way from gun attacks. And not all murderous madmen are terrorists.
Everything we can say seems so inadequate.
An article about the suspect says he admired an American mass killer:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/24/us/toronto-suspect-what-we-know/index.html
Post #10 - thank you for posting that - those were my thoughts as I watched the standoff. The restraint was just different than we are used to seeing…the words in your post (not your words if I understand correctly) just are so thought provoking and important. I needed to see that.
Latest report says this guy had issues regarding women and may have targeted the victims of his mayhem. Reportedly he had some affinity for the nutcase in California a couple of years ago who shot people because women rejected him.
I have not seen or heard any report that would support that. The victims were both men and women and ranged in age from their 20s to their 80s. Three were from Korea, one from Jordan, an Italian-Canadian, and I would bet that when all names are released, we’ll find that they will reflect the diversity in our city.