INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
allegedly plowing a rented van onto a crowded Toronto sidewalk, killing 10 people -- an incident that shocked the nation.Police said the
suspect, 25-year-old Alek Minassian, was not known to them before Monday's carnage in Canada's most populous city, which also left 14
Most of the victims were women.Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale played down any suggestion that the attack bore the hallmarks of those
carried out by truck-driving extremists in London, Nice and other cities, saying "there is no discernable connection to national
security."But authorities said the incident during the busy lunch hour Monday was undoubtedly deliberate.Lead investigator
Detective-Sergeant Graham Gibson said Minassian had posted a "cryptic message on Facebook minutes before he began driving the rented van"
along a long stretch of Yonge Street, eventually jumping the curb onto the sidewalk.In the post, Minassian praised mass killer Elliot Rodger
-- a 22-year-old American who murdered six people and then killed himself in California in 2014, and who had professed frustration over his
virginity and women rejecting him.The suspect's post also referred to the "Incel Rebellion" -- "incel" is short for "involuntarily
overthrow all the Chads and Stacys!" the post read, monikers used in the community to describe people who have no trouble finding sexual
partners.Gibson said the victims of the Toronto attack were "predominantly women" and ranged in age from the mid-20s to 80s.Minassian also
referred to himself on social media as a private in the army
Canadian military spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande confirmed that he enlisted last August but asked to be discharged after only 16 days of
basic training.A shaven-headed Minassian appeared in court early Tuesday to hear the charges against him -- 10 counts of premeditated murder
and 13 of attempted murder
A 14th count of attempted murder was pending after the toll of injured was revised down.Minassian stood impassively with his hands behind
his back, wearing a white police jumpsuit
help overnight.The first of the dead to be publicly identified was Anne Marie D'Amico, who worked at an investment management company near
the scene.Her family called her a "shining light," saying in a statement: "We hope that in this time, people fight with the same altruism
(she had) rather than anger and hatred."Two South Koreans were among the dead, a foreign ministry official in Seoul told AFP, adding that
father in the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill, and police searched the home on Tuesday.Students who attended a vocational school with the
suspect described him as withdrawn and awkward.Ari Blaff, who went to high school with Minassian, told public broadcaster CBC that his
around him."Minassian's mother told a community newspaper in 2009 that he suffered from a form of autism known as Asperger's
syndrome.'Senseless attack'On Tuesday, police continued to comb the crime scene for evidence, while crowds gathered at a makeshift memorial
to leave messages of condolences and flowers.Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was among those who stopped to leave flowers, pausing to read
cards left in remembrance of the dead.In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference: "Canadians across the country are
shocked and saddened by this senseless attack."But, he added: "We must not start living in fear and uncertainty every day as we go about our
daily lives.(This story has not been edited by staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
