The 2018 Toronto Van Attack

The 2018 Toronto Van Attack

Author: Dark Poutine / Curiouscast February 10, 2025 Duration: 1:07:10
Episode 353: On April 23, 2018, a bright spring afternoon turned into a nightmare when a rented van plowed through pedestrians along Yonge Street in North York, a Toronto neighbourhood. In just minutes, 10 lives were tragically lost, and 16 others were injured; one of those later passed away from her injuries, bringing the death toll to 11. The community was left mourning, and the country grappled with questions of how and why such a senseless act could occur.   The man behind the wheel was 25-year-old Alec Minassian, a self-proclaimed member of the so-called "incel" community—short for "involuntary celibate." This online subculture, rooted in misogyny and resentment, has been linked to acts of violence, often targeting women. Minassian’s actions that day were not random; they were a calculated act of terror fueled by a toxic ideology that glorifies hatred and violence against those perceived as rejecting or oppressing men like him.   Sources: Backgrounder: Yonge Street Incident | Toronto.ca Alek Minassian Case: Agreed Statement of Facts | PDF Alek Minasssian Trial | PDF Alek Minassian Interview | PDF Diverting Hate - Bi-Annual Report September 2023 | PDF Victim Impact Statements | PDF | Justice criminelle | Crime et violence The Incel Rebellion | PDF Exhibit # 6 - Doc-Victim Impact Statement From R. FORSYTH | PDF CJEM-v1n1-Rozdilsky-Snowden.-Toronto-Van-Attack April 24, 2018 episode transcript | CBC Radio TPSNews.ca | Stories | Witnesses Sought to Yonge-Finch Investigation Toronto van attack: Eyewitness accounts Witnesses say they are still struggling nearly 1 year since the deadly Toronto van attack Alek Minassian booked by police after Toronto van attack - YouTube Alek Minassian confesses in police interview after Toronto van attack - YouTube Toronto police on Const. Ken Lam, officer who arrested van attack suspect - YouTube How this Toronto officer 'courageously' got the van attack suspect in custody without firing a shot | CBC News Toronto van attack suspect says he was 'radicalized' online by 'incels' Incels.co - Involuntary Celibate incel lingo.pdf | Human Sexuality Incels (v1.2) by Aleph | Human Sexual Activity Policybrief Violent Extremists Incels OPV - Extremism and Hate Motivated Violence in Alberta - 2 | Extremism | Violence Alek Minassian admits to planning, carrying out van attack | Watch News Videos Online Toronto van attack - Wikipedia Alek Minassian admits to planning, carrying out Toronto van attack | Globalnews.ca Toronto van attacker sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years | Globalnews.ca Toronto van attacker sentenced to life in prison, no parole for 25 years 2021 ONSC 1258 (CanLII) | R. v. Minassian | CanLII Why attackers use vehicles as weapons to kill innocent people in crowds Vehicle Ramming: The Evolution of a Terrorist Tactic Inside the US Democratization of terrorism: an analysis of vehicle-based terrorist events by Ryan Scott Houser Elliot Rodger meticulously planned Isla Vista rampage, report says Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Podcast Episodes
The Legend of the Thunderbird [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:05
Episode 415: For generations, people across North America have reported seeing enormous birds, describing wingspans that seem impossible and encounters they struggle to explain. Long before those reports were written, th…
Redo and Update: The Monster of Miramichi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:30
Episode 414: In the fall of 1989, the Miramichi region of New Brunswick became a place of unimaginable terror as escaped killer Allan Legere, the Monster of the Miramichi, unleashed a seven-month rampage of sexual assaul…
Indefensible: The Murder of Dr. Mohd Abdullah [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:45
Episode 413: On the afternoon of March 11, 2022, Dr. Mohd Abdullah left work at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, that afternoon for a meeting with his lawyer. It was supposed to be a discussion a…
Road Trip: Los Satanicos — The Murder of Mark Kilroy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:15
Episode 412: In March 1989, 21-year-old University of Texas pre-med student Mark Kilroy travelled to South Padre Island with friends for spring break. One night, they crossed the international bridge from Brownsville, Te…
The Niagara Murder: The Tragic Death of Frederick C. Benwell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:09
Episode 411: In February 1890, the body of 24-year-old Englishman Frederick Cornwallis Benwell was found in a shallow grave near Lundy’s Lane, just outside Niagara Falls, Ontario. Benwell had travelled to Canada after co…
The Legend of Agnus McVee: Murder at 108 Mile [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:08
Episode 410: In the final years of the Cariboo Gold Rush, between roughly 1875 and 1885, travellers moving along the Cariboo Wagon Road through British Columbia’s interior passed through a remote roadhouse known as the 1…
The Toronto 18 — Radicalized in the Suburbs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:44
Episode 409: In June 2006, police carried out coordinated arrests across southern Ontario and charged 18 young men under Canada’s anti-terrorism laws. The case quickly became known as the Toronto 18. It was described as…
The Murder of Taylor Samson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:39
Episode 408: In August 2015, 22-year-old Dalhousie University physics student Taylor Samson walked into an apartment on Henry Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, carrying 20 pounds of marijuana. He never walked out. What fol…
The Tragic End of Henrietta Knight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:28
Episode 407: On a quiet street in Kingston, Ontario, a 92-year-old woman named Henrietta Knight opened her front door on a summer afternoon in 1995. She was violently assaulted during a home invasion, left badly injured,…
Stolen Life, Stolen Identity: The Murder of Dwayne Demkiw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:20
Episode 406: It was a bright Sunday late-morning, on May 31, 2015, in Calgary, Alberta, when a passerby heard a bang inside an airport‑area parkade and saw smoke pouring from the trunk of a black Acura. The car was still…