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
Beneath the Roots: The Murder of Mary Ann Frauzel Mailman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:42
Episode 365: On a humid August morning in 1873, the quiet, tight-knit community of Baker’s Settlement outside of Bridgewater in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, was shattered by a crime so shocking that it would echo for g…
The Collapse of the Second Narrows Bridge: A Tragedy in Steel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:33
Episode 364: On June 17, 1958, a warm summer afternoon in Vancouver, British Columbia, the bustling construction site of the Second Narrows Bridge was alive with activity. Seventy-nine workers, including ironworkers, eng…
Shattered Innocence: The Murders Leanne McFarlane and Jeffrey Taylor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:20
Episode 362: On the morning of May 29, 2010, gunshots shattered the quiet of a rural property just outside Cranbrook, British Columbia. By the time police arrived at the scene, two lives had been tragically cut short in…
POWs in Canada and the Murders at Camp 132 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:42
Episode 362: We explore chilling events that unfolded at POW Camp 132 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, during World War II. This prisoner-of-war camp, one of many scattered across Canada, became the site of two brutal murders t…
Avro Arrow: The Rise and Fall of Canada’s Dream Fighter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:40
Episode 361: On October 4, 1957, as the world's eyes turned skyward to witness the launch of Sputnik 1, another technological marvel was about to be unveiled in a hangar in Malton, Ontario. The Avro Arrow, Canada's ambit…
Madness on the Hill: The 1966 Parliamentary Bombing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:57
Episode 360: On May 18, 1966, Paul Joseph Chartier, among other things, a disillusioned and unemployed security guard and former truck driver, attempted a deadly act of terrorism on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Chartier pl…
Margate Horror: The Murder of Mary Pickering Tuplin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:35
Episode 359: On a warm summer evening in June 1887, 17-year-old Mary Pickering Tuplin vanished from her family's farm in Margate, PEI. A search and a grim discovery followed that would rock the quiet farming community to…
Made in Canada: The Unsolved Murder of Reet Jurvetson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:44
Episode 358: In Los Angeles, California, in the autumn of 1969, along winding Mulholland Drive, a young woman's body was discovered, brutally stabbed more than 150 times, her identity shrouded in mystery for nearly half…
Murder and Mayhem in Norfolk County [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:11
Episode 357: On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, 21 June 1950, the tranquil tobacco farming community of Langton, of Langton, Ontario, was shattered by a violent crime that would leave an indelible mark on Canadian history.…