A rented van jumped onto a crowded Toronto sidewalk Monday, killing nine people and injuring 16 before the driver fled and was quickly arrested in a confrontation with police, Canadian authorities said.
Witnesses said the driver was moving fast and appeared to be acting deliberately, but police said they did not yet know the cause or any possible motive. The name of the suspect was not released.
Toronto Police Services Deputy Chief Peter Yuen released no details about the investigation as he announced the number of casualties.
Yuen said police were still interviewing witnesses and examining surveillance video of the incident as part of what he called a “complex” investigation.
“I can assure the public all our available resources have been brought in to investigate this tragic situation,” he said.
The incident occurred as Cabinet ministers from the major industrial countries were gathered in Canada to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June.
Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale said that it was too soon to say whether the crash was a case of international terrorism and that the government had not raised its terrorism alert.
A senior national government official later said that authorities had not turned over the investigation to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a sign that investigators believed it unlikely terrorism was the motive. The official agreed to reveal that information only if not quoted by name.
The driver was heading south on busy Yonge Street around 1:30 p.m. and the streets were crowded with people…
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