On Monday afternoon, a white rental van plowed into a group of pedestrians at the busy intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue in midtown Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 15 others. Now, details are starting emerge about the suspect, 25-year-old Richmond Hill, Ontario resident Alek Minassian, who was taken into custody by a lone police officer following the rampage.
Minassian is set to appear in court on 10 a.m. on Wednesday, although an exact motive is not yet known and he does not appear to be affiliated with any terrorist organizations. One possibly telling detail, however, was discovered on a Facebook account believed to be Minassian’s that was posted just before the attack.
“All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger,” the post declared, referring to the 22-year-old mass murderer who went on a deadly spree near the University of California Santa Barbara campus in 2014, killing six people and injuring 14 others in a combined stabbing, shooting, and vehicular attack. Rodger left behind a 141 page manifesto seemingly inspired by 4Chan and men’s rights activists, in which he stated that he had fantasies of “becoming very powerful and stopping everyone from having sex,” and that sex should be outlawed, because it’s “the only way to make the world a fair and just place.”
There will likely be more insight into what compelled Minassian to carry out the attack in the coming days and weeks. He was described by a neighbor as “odd, kept to himself and didn’t socialize with other students.”