Toronto van attack preparator, Alek Minassian has been found guilty on all charges of murder related to the 2018 van attack.
Toronto Van Attack
In 2018, Alek Minassian had rented a van and carried out a vehicle-ramming attack on Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario. He had driven the van over pedestrians as a ‘revenge’ for the social rejection he claimed to have been a victim of. The attack lasted for seven minutes and left 10 dead and 16 injured, becoming one of the deadliest van attacks witnessed in Canadian history.
Autism to Blame for the Attack?
After the attacker was arrested and bought to court, his lawyers had taken the stance that since Alek suffered from Autism Spectrum Disorder, a developmental disorder that affects a person’s behavior and actions, he was not to be held criminally responsible for the attack. His lawyers argued that the condition made it impossible for Alec to develop empathy and he was incapable of realizing the monstrosity of his actions.
The Judgement
At the judge alone trial, Alek had pleaded not guilty. However, Justice Anne Molloy refused to accept the defense lawyer’s reasoning, stating that the decision to carry out the heinous van attack had been taken with a rational brain.
Rejecting the defense’s argument, Justice Molloy declared the attacker guilty of 10 charges of murder and 16 charges of attempted murder. Molloy referred to the van attack preparator as ‘John Doe’ in her judgment, saying she did not want him to get the notoriety he was seeking. She also made it a point to mention the name and age of every person killed in the Toronto van attack.
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