Toronto police have confirmed that nine people are dead, 16 injured after a driver drove a white rental van into a crowd of pedestrians on a Toronto pavement on Monday afternoon.
Authorities say the driver is in custody and have identified a suspect named as Alek Minassian.
According to witnesses, the driver appeared to deliberately drive at people, leaving a trail of carnage nearly a mile long.
Police have confirmed that the suspect is in custody. Police sources said that he was known to them.
Toronto police said tehy were called to the incident at 1.30pm local time, and that the tragedy unfolded in the North York area at the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue.
Former NYC Police commissioner Bill Bratton has claimed on MSNBC that he has heard from Canadian sources sources that Alek Minassian, 25, was known to police and they now consider it a terrorist attack.
