‘We cannot live in fear’: Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offers comfort as motive for deadly Toronto van attack remains a mystery
Suspect Alek Minassian entered a Toronto courtroom on Tuesday morning, charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder
While the worst mass killing in Canada in decades has the hallmarks of other deadly vehicle assaults by Islamic State supporters in the United States and Europe, officials said it did not represent a threat to national security.
Suspect Alek Minassian, 25, entered a Toronto courtroom on Tuesday morning. His head was shaved and he was looking down as prosecutors announced they were charging him with 10 counts of first-degree murder.
We cannot as Canadians choose to live in fear every single day as we go about our daily business
The proceedings began after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the attack outside parliament in Ottawa, calling on all Canadians to stand united with Toronto.
“We cannot as Canadians choose to live in fear every single day as we go about our daily business. We need to focus on doing what we can and we must to keep Canadians safe while we stay true to the freedoms and values that we all as Canadians hold dear,” Trudeau said.
The prime minister said that, while it would take time before the motives of the attacker were understood, the incident had not changed the country’s threat level or security preparations for a G7 summit in Quebec in June.
People left flowers at a makeshift memorial, which grew as commuters returned to work on Tuesday morning. Blank white posters left against a stone wall were covered with messages.
The Canadian flag was lowered to half-staff at parliament and at Toronto city hall.