By Ben and Harry – Correspondents for General News section
Toronto van incident: nine dead and at least 16 injured after van ploughs into crowd
Nine people have been killed and at least 16 injured – several of them seriously – after a van jumped the kerb in a northern suburb of Toronto and ran into a crowd of pedestrians, according to police.
The driver fled the scene of the incident, at a busy intersection in the north of the Canadian city, but was arrested several blocks away.
The arrest followed a tense standoff with officers on the street.
Bystander videos appeared to show the driver pointing an object at the officers, who can be heard shouting at him to get down.
Toronto police spokesperson, Gary Long said:
“Reports were that a white van mounted the kerb, drove down the sidewalk at southbound Yonge, south of Finch, and struck eight to 10 people possibly, the numbers aren’t confirmed yet.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted from Ottawa: “Our thoughts are with all those affected by the terrible incident at Yonge and Finch in Toronto,”
“Thank you to the first responders working at the scene – we’re monitoring the situation closely.”
The United States and Europe have seen an increase in driving attacks in recent years. In October 2017, a man in New York drove a van down a bicycle path, killing eight people.
by Ben – Correspondent for the General News section.