The policeman who didn't shoot at Alek Minassian in Toronto is proof that real heroes aren't trigger-happy

The Toronto van attack suspect charged with 10 counts of premeditated murder has been described by his former classmates as a socially awkward student who graduated from his college course only last week.

Alek Minassian was arrested after 10 people were killed by a van in northern Toronto on Monday evening.

The 25-year-old was taken into custody after the rented vehicle ploughed into a crowd, leaving a further 15 people hospitalised, and also faces multiple counts of attempted murder.

Video footage showed a suspect being handcuffed after a tense stand-off with armed police. Authorities are still attempting to establish a motive for the attack, but say his actions were undoubtedly deliberate.

In his first court appearance, he showed little emotion as he stood in the dock, wearing a white prison jumpsuit, his head shaved and his arms behind his back.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "I have a gun in my pocket" – the moment Alek Minassian was arrested.

A van driver accused of killing 10 people in Toronto posted to Facebook minutes before the attack to praise killer Elliot Rodger and refer to the misogynistic "incel" Reddit group.

Alek Minassian, 25, was charged on Tuesday with 10 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.

Police say he appeared to intentionally strike pedestrians after mounting a busy pavement in a rental van.

He was arrested several blocks away after a tense standoff with police.

Mr Minassian's Facebook post, which the social network has confirmed as real, praised Elliott Rodger, a 22 year old from California who killed six people in a shooting rampage through Isla Vista, California in 2014 before turning the gun on himself.

It read: "The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!"

The term "incel" refers to a now-banned group on the message site Reddit, used by Rodger, where young men discussed their lack of sexual activity and attractiveness to women - often blaming women for the problem.

"Chads and Stacys" refers to attractive men and women who are perceived as better than or unavailable to "incels", which is short for "involuntary celibate".

Toronto Police Detective Sergeant Graham Gibson said at a press conference on Tuesday that the 10 dead and 14 wounded were "predominantly" women.

He said the youngest were in their twenties and the eldest in their eighties.

Authorities have not yet formally identified any of the victims.

Mr Minassian appeared in court on Tuesday to hear the charges against him. He sported a shaved head and white jumpsuit and held his hands behind his back, showing little emotion throughout.

He was ordered to have no contact with surviving victims and to return to court on 10 May.

A man believed to be a relative of Mr Minassian's sat in the front row of the court and wept. Asked by reporters after the hearing if he had anything to say, the man replied "sorry".

Skip Twitter post by @TomLlamasABC This man, believed to be Minassian's relative, was escorted out by court officials and was crying in the front row during the hearing. He said "sorry" when asked if he had anything to say to the people of Canada and softly said "no"when asked if there were warning signs. @ABC pic.twitter.com/dm6whWGEbt — Tom Llamas (@TomLlamasABC) April 24, 2018 Report

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident a "senseless attack and a horrific tragedy".

Yonge Street, where the attack took place, remained closed on Tuesday as police continued their investigation.

A line of officers standing shoulder-to-shoulder walked slowly down the street combing it for remaining evidence.

What else do we know about the suspect?

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) confirmed that Mr Minassian was a member for two months in late 2017. He requested to be voluntarily released.

Mr Minassian had previously attended a school for students with special needs in north Toronto, former classmates said.

He would be seen walking around Thornlea Secondary School with his head down and hands clasped tightly together making meowing noises, Shereen Chami told Reuters.

But she said Mr Minassian had not been violent. "He wasn't a social person, but from what I remember he was absolutely harmless," she told Reuters.

Image copyright LinkedIn

Mr Minassian went on to attend Seneca College in the North York area of Toronto, where the van incident took place, CBC reported.

Police say Mr Minassian is from the northern Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill and was not previously known to authorities.

Public safety minister Ralph Goodale said there "would appear to be no national security connections" and Canadian broadcaster CBC cited government officials as saying Mr Minassian was not associated with any known terror groups.

Who were the victims?

Image copyright Facebook Image caption Anne Marie D'Amico was "full of life", her colleague said

So far three victims have been named in the media and through other channels.

Anne-Marie D'Amico worked for the US investment company, Invesco, CBC reports. The company's Canadian headquarters are on Yonge Street.

The Jordanian embassy in Ottawa has told the BBC that one of its citizens was among the victims. Jordanian media named him as Munir Abdo Habib al-Najjar, who they said was in Canada to visit one of his sons.

Toronto resident Dorothy Sewell, 80, has also been named by relatives as one of the victims.

Image copyright Elwood Delaney Image caption Dorothy Sewell was a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team

Her grandson, Elwood Delaney, said she was the "best grandma anyone could have asked for".

The South Korean embassy in Canada confirmed to the BBC that two of its citizens were among the dead and another was critically ill. Their names have not been disclosed.

The 15 injured remain in hospitals throughout Toronto.

How did the incident unfold?

Police said the suspect in the van mounted the kerb on Yonge Street between Finch Avenue and Sheppard Avenue at about 13:30 local time (17:30 GMT) on Monday and drove into pedestrians along a 1km (0.6-mile) stretch.

Reza Hashemi, who owns a video shop on Yonge Street, told the BBC he heard screaming on the other side of the road. He said the van was repeatedly mounting the pavement and running into people.

One witness told City News that the driver was "hitting anything that comes in the way".

"People, fire hydrants, there's mail boxes being run over," said the unnamed man, who said he was driving behind the van during the incident.

As the van continued, the man said he sounded his horn to try to warn pedestrians. "I witnessed at least six, seven people being hit and flying in the air, like killed, on the street," he said.

Pictures from the scene showed bodies covered in orange sheets along the van's route. Debris and items of clothing were scattered across the pavements and road.

Image copyright Instagram/vodkawaterpapi Image caption The suspect confronted a police officer and claimed to have a gun

The van was brought to a halt by police several streets away and was quickly surrounded.

The suspect pointed an object at the officer and claimed to have a gun.

"I don't care. Get down," the officer said, before arresting Mr Minassian without firing a shot. The arrest was filmed by two bystanders and the officer was praised for not opening fire.

A makeshift memorial has sprung up at the junction of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue and a wall is being filled with messages of condolences, grief and support.

One of those who came to lay a flower, Dave Spence, said residents would "walk a little differently" when they came through the area "for years to come".

Image copyright EPA Image caption Flowers and messages are left near a small park on Yonge Street

Did you witness the attack? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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Over the past couple of years, mass murder has developed into something remarkably unremarkable. Generations gone by never seemed to worry much about getting gunned down at church. Your mum probably never thought somebody in a big white van would plough into her outside a café and leave her for dead, either.

But that was then. Now, we can’t seem to go more than a week without a university campus going on lockdown, a bomb going off, or a vehicle mounting the pavement – and that’s exactly what happened yesterday in Toronto.

The story is becoming all too familiar.

It seems a man decided to rent a van, hop the kerb and mow down as many pedestrians as he could. Ten innocent people are now gone forever, and another 15 people have been left fighting for their lives. Words can’t describe the senselessness of it all – and so there’s no point trying.

But out of the pitiful darkness, this tragedy has left us with one, minuscule ray of light in the form of an everyday hero doing his job. And it has got to be the new gold standard for how we celebrate bravery.

Twenty-five-year-old Alek Minassian was cornered by the police and screamed at them to shoot him dead. He repeatedly threatened to fire at officers unless they killed him – and nine times out of 10, you can bet your bottom dollar that your local cop would happily comply (at least in North America, that is).

Toronto van attack: in pictures

10 show all Toronto van attack: in pictures

1/10 The front end damage of the van that a driver used to hit several pedestrians in Toronto. AFP/Getty

2/10 A lone police officer confronts the man suspected of driving the rented white van. rayy0889/Twitter/Screengrab

3/10 Alek Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, a suburb north of Toronto, was arrested after he drove the vehicle into pedestrians. Alek Minassian/LinkedIn

4/10 10 people were killed in the city on Monday, 23rd April. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP

5/10 Farzad Salehi consoles his wife, Mehrsa Marjani, who was at a nearby cafe and witnessed the aftermath. AP

6/10 Emergency services closed Yonge Street after the van mounted a pavement crashing into a crowd of pedestrians. AP

7/10 A covered body lies on Yonge Street. EPA

8/10 Police inspect the van involved with the collision. Getty

9/10 People sign a memorial for the victims. AP

10/10 Police officers stand by a covered body. Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press via AP

After all, the world deserves better than dangerous men like this, and wouldn't we all be a little bit safer with fewer Alek Minassians on our streets? That’s why we normally forgive our protectors when they get a little bit too trigger-happy, right?

Well, nobody needed a trigger yesterday. An unnamed officer took control of the situation, kept his cool and got Minassian down on the ground using only words. That’s a real hero – that’s moral authority and bravery incarnate – and in this day and age, it’s incredibly rare.

You see, we’re conditioned from the moment we turn on the television to admire and respect the supreme authority of uber-masculine, gun-toting “heroes”. We’re subconsciously schooled in the art of violent revenge – which is why so many of us cling onto this artificial and prehistoric construct of the ultimate action hero and his licence to kill.

Brute force should be answered with brute force, we’re told, and a whole lot of us seem to inherently expect all our police officers to act like they’re living in some clear-cut, good-versus-evil Arnold Schwarzenegger film.

Several injured after van ploughs into pedestrians in Toronto

But the truth is that this planet is anything but clear-cut – and real bravery is not shooting first and asking questions later. Anybody who says otherwise is simply perpetuating this dark climate in which mass murder seems to thrive.

Let’s not mince words here. Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day in order to keep us safe. Most of them are incredible, caring and courageous individuals. We owe them everything, and there are going to be situations in which they've got no choice but to fire a gun. But our warped take on heroism and guns is also giving some a bloody complex.

We place unrealistic and gory expectations upon officers, and then feign surprise when they gun down a harmless immigrant for the crime of being black and holding a hammer – or shoot a Syrian immigrant nine times to protect us from his little pocketknife. Excessive force doesn’t quite cover it, but it's what we've come to expect.

World news in pictures

50 show all World news in pictures

1/50 24 April 2018 President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, first lady Melania Trump and Brigitte Macron hold hands on the White House balcony during a State Arrival Ceremony in Washington. AP

2/50 23 April 2018 A boy walks on a pile of garbage covering a drain in New Delhi. Reuters

3/50 22 April 2018 Newly ordained priests lie on the floor as Pope Francis leads a mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. REUTERS

4/50 21 April 2018 South Koreans cheer during the welcoming event for the inter-Korean summit between South Korea and North Korea in Seoul. The inter-Korean summit is scheduled on April 27, 2018 at the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom, agreed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un. Getty

5/50 20 April 2018 A Palestinian slings a shot by burning tires on the Israel-Gaza border, following a demonstration calling for the right to return. Palestinian refugees either fled or were expelled from what is now the state of Israel during the 1948 war. AFP/Getty

6/50 19 April 2018 Outgoing Cuban President Raul Castro raising the arm of Cuba's new President Miguel Diaz-Canel after he was formally named by the National Assembly, in Havana. A historic handover ending six decades of rule by the Castro brothers. The 57-year-old Diaz-Canel, who was the only candidate for the presidency, was elected to a five-year term with 603 out of 604 possible votes in the National Assembly. AFP/Getty/www.cubadebate.cu

7/50 18 April 2018 Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announces early presidential and parliamentary elections for June 24, 2018, at the Presidential Palace, in Ankara. Erdogan announced the snap elections, originally scheduled for November 2019, in a move that will usher in a new political system increasing the powers of the president. He said the new system needed to be implemented quickly in order to deal with a slew of challenges ahead, including Turkey's fight against Kurdish insurgents in Syria and Iraq. AP

8/50 17 April 2018 European lawmakers raise placards reading "Stop the War in Syria" in protest against airstrikes launched by the US, Britain and France in Syria last week criticizing the legitimacy of the operation, as French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Macron is expected to outline his vision for the future of Europe to push for deep reforms of the 19-nation eurozone and will launch a drive to seek European citizens' opinions on the European Union's future. AP

9/50 16 April 2018 People participate in a protest against the rape of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua near Jammu, and a teenager in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh state, in Bangalore, India Reuters

10/50 15 April 2018 Fireworks are set off as the final performance takes place during the Closing Ceremony for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. PA

11/50 14 April 2018 The wreckage of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre compound in the Barzeh district, north of Damascus, after the United States, UK and France launched strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime early on April 14 in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack after mulling military action for nearly a week. Syrian state news agency SANA reported several missiles hit a research centre in Barzeh, north of Damascus, "destroying a building that included scientific labs and a training centre" AFP/Getty

12/50 13 April 2018 Indian activists gather to show support for the chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal, who is on a hunger strike against the alleged rapes in Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, in New Delhi, India. According to news reports Maliwal is sitting on hunger strike demanding that authorities take strict actions against the alleged rapists. EPA

13/50 12 April 2018 Shi'ite pilgrims carry a symbolic casket outside Imam Moussa al-Kadhim's shrine to mark the anniversary of his death in Baghdad, Iraq Reuters

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15/50 10 April 2018 Syrian onlookers gather around rescue teams clearing the rubble at the site of an explosion of unknown origin which wrecked a multi-storey building the previous night in the war-battered country's northwestern city of Idlib. The cause of the explosion in the jihadist-held city, which killed more than a ten people and wounded 80, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, was not immediately clear. AFP/Getty

16/50 9 April 2018 Protesters try to block French gendarmes during an evacuation operation in the zoned ZAD (Deferred Development Zone) in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, near Nantes, France. Reuters

17/50 8 April 2018 Competitors cross the start line at the annual Pyongyang Marathon. AFP/Getty

18/50 7 April 2018 The body of journalist Yasser Murtaja, 31, is carried during his funeral in Gaza city. He was shot by Israeli troops while reporting on Palestinian protests on the Gaza-Israel border. Reuters

19/50 6 April 2018 Supporters of the former South African president Jacob Zuma rally prior to his appearance in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on corruption charges in Durban. Zuma, 75, arrived to face corruption charges linked to a multi-billion dollar 1990s arms deal. The graft case against him was postponed until June 8 after a brief 15-minute hearing. AFP/Getty

20/50 5 April 2018 Palestinian protesters run during clashes with Israeli troops at Israel-Gaza border. Reuters

21/50 4 April 2018 Presidents Hassan Rouhani of Iran, Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia pose before their meeting in Ankara. Reuters

22/50 3 April 2018 South African school children pause next to a portrait of the late South African anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, wife of African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, at her house in Soweto. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to Winnie, who died on April 2, saying that Nelson Mandela's former wife was a "voice of defiance" against white-minority rule. AFP/Getty

23/50 2 April 2018 Jewish priests and civilians take part in the Cohanim prayer during the Passover holiday at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. AFP/Getty

24/50 1 April 2018 Pope Francis greets the crowd at St Peter's square after the Easter Sunday Mass in the Vatican. Christians around the world are marking the Holy Week, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, leading up to his resurrection on Easter. AFP/Getty

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27/50 29 March 2018 An emotional Steve Smith is comforted by his father Peter as he fronts the media at Sydney International Airport. Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were flown back to Australia following investigations into alleged ball tampering in South Africa. Getty

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29/50 27 March 2018 Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a memorial made for the victims of a fire in a multi-story shopping center in the Siberian city of Kemerovo. Officials say that the fire escapes were blocked and a PA system was turned off during the fire that killed over 50 people. Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

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31/50 25 March 2018 Syrian civilians gathering for their evacuation from the town of Arbin in the Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, following a deal with the regime. The deal is expected to see some 7,000 people bussed from Arbin and Zamalka towns and the district of Jobar to a rebel-dominated part of northern Syria. AFP/Getty

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38/50 18 March 2018 President Vladimir Putin walks out of a voting booth at a polling station during Russia's presidential election in Moscow. AFP/Getty

39/50 17 March 2018 People take part in a pensioners protest to demand decent pensions in Barcelona. Thousands of people across the country took part in mass demonstrations called by main Spanish workers unions demanding rises of state pensions in accordance with the consumer price index AFP/Getty

40/50 16 March 2018 Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Almazov National Medical Research Centre in Saint Petersburg. AFP/Getty

41/50 15 March 2018 Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council in Moscow. Reuters

42/50 14 March 2018 German Chancellor Angela Merkel is sworn in by the President of the German lower house during the government's swearing-in ceremony at the Bundestag in Berlin. Merkel, head of the Christian Democratic Party CDU, starts her fourth term as German chancellor, capping months of political uncertainty as she bartered with her rivals of the SPD to help govern Europe's top economy in a "grand coalition". AFP/Getty

43/50 13 March 2018 Nepali students of University of Dhaka light candles in memory of the victims of the US-Bangla aircraft crash in Nepal, Bangladesh. Reuters

44/50 12 March 2018 Rescuers work to save passengers from a plane crash at Kathmandu airport in Nepal. AP

45/50 11 March 2018 French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron pose for photographs as they visit the Taj Mahal. AFP/Getty

46/50 10 March 2018 France’s far-right party Front National (FN) president Marine Le Pen applauds former US President advisor Steve Bannon after his speech during the Front National party annual congress, in Lille, northern France. AFP/Getty

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50/50 6 March 2018 Sri Lanka's army soldiers and police personnel stand near a vandalised building in Digana, a suburb of Kandy. Extremists Buddhist mobs swept through the town on Monday, burning at least 11 Muslim owned shops and homes. Sri Lanka's president declared a state of emergency Tuesday amid fears that anti-Muslim attacks in the central hill town could spread. AP

More important still, this infatuation with Glock-heavy heroes denies justice to victims touched by genuine acts of violence. Alek Minassian won’t be remembered by anybody as a great martyr for some airy-fairy cause. His action-packed death won’t inspire others to repeat his actions in search of their own memorable end.

And at the end of the day, that’s ultimately what these people want, isn’t it? They want to go down in flames of glory. They’re nobodies on the hunt for notoriety, and they’re often the sorts of vulnerable people or genuine scumbags who end up flocking to the banners of genuinely evil terrorist cells like Isis. It's not a tenuous link to make by any stretch of the imagination.

Like it or not, murder begets murder – and what we truly need in this day and age is heroes who are willing to lay off the trigger wherever possible in order to reclaim the moral high ground upon which our societies are supposedly built.

Today, Alek Minassian will appear in court. Justice will be served and, with any luck, the people of Toronto can begin to heal. The rest of us have got to learn from this. We've got to rethink the way we deal with criminals and work to prevent these sort of atrocities – and for better or for worse, that journey starts by redefining the way we celebrate true heroism.

The first picture has emerged of Toronto van crash suspect Alek Minassian, who is thought to have killed 10 people in the Canadian city on Monday.

He was arrested after a brief confrontation with police, and chief Mark Saunders said the crash “definitely looked deliberate”.

However, officials did not comment on a possible motive except to play down any connection to terrorism.

Minassian was a student at Seneca College in Toronto’s North York area, CBC reported, citing a LinkedIn profile that appeared to have been taken down following the crash.

He was not previously known to police.

Officers suspect Minassian was the driver of a rented white van that ploughed into pedestrians at about 1.30pm local time on Monday, killing 10 people and injuring 15 more.

The driver was heading south on busy Yonge Street and the area was crowded with people enjoying an unseasonably warm day when the van jumped onto the pavement.

Alek Minassian , 25, of Richmond Hill, a suburb north of Toronto, has been arrested after 10 people were killed in the city on Monday ( Alek Minassian / LinkedIn )

Ali Shaker, who was driving near the van at the time, told Canadian broadcaster CP24 the driver appeared to deliberately smash into the crowd at more than 30 mph.

Another witness, Peter Kang, told CTV News the van did not appear to be trying to stop.

Toronto van attacker stands off with policeman

“If it was an accident he would have stopped,” Mr Kang said. “But the person just went through the sidewalk. He could have stopped.”