Pelaku yang menabrak secara brutal para pejalan kaki di trotoar Toronto, Kanada, diidentifikasi sebagai Alek Minassian (25). Pelaku ditangkap 25 menit usai melakukan aksinya yang menewaskan 10 orang dan melukai 15 orang lainnya. Dituturkan Kepala Kepolisian Toronto, Mark Saunders, seperti dilansir Reuters , Selasa (24/4/2018), Minassian sebelumnya belum pernah berurusan dengan aparat penegak hukum Kanada. Sosoknya tidak dikenal di kalangan kepolisian setempat. "Aksinya jelas terlihat disengaja," sebut Saunders dalam konferensi pers di dekat lokasi kejadian pada Senin (23/4) malam waktu setempat. [Gambas:Video 20detik] Media lokal Kanada, Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC), melaporkan bahwa Minassian berasal dari Richmond Hill, Ontario. Profilnya pada jejaring sosial LinkedIn menunjukkan Minassian merupakan mahasiswa di Seneca College di North York, yang terletak di sebelah utara kawasan Yonge Street. Motif Minassian melakukan aksi brutal ini belum diketahui pasti. Saunders enggan berspekulasi soal motif pelaku dan menyatakan penyelidikan masih berlangsung. Dilaporkan CBC yang mengutip sejumlah pejabat pemerintah Kanada, Minassian tidak terkait dengan kelompok militan manapun. Menteri Keselamatan Publik Federal Kanada, Ralph Goodale, menyatakan: "Tidak ada keterkaitan dengan keamanan nasional'. Dengan mengendarai van warna putih yang disewanya, Minassian menabrak para pejalan kaki di trotoar yang ada di kawasan Yonge Street yang ramai pada Senin (23/4) siang waktu setempat. Dia melaju sejauh 1,6 kilometer sambil terus menabrak para pejalan kaki. Sedikitnya 10 orang tewas dan 15 orang lainnya luka-luka. Minassian ditangkap setelah menodongkan sebuah objek tak jelas ke arah polisi dan berteriak: "Bunuh saya". Saat ditangkap, polisi tidak menemukan senjata api di dekat Minassian. Sementara itu, CBC juga melaporkan informasi yang beredar via online yang menyebut Minassian melakukan aksi brutal ini karena marah usai ditolak banyak wanita. Sebuah akun Facebook yang menampilkan nama dan foto Minassian merujuk pada postingan ' Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger ', pelaku serangan brutal tahun 2014 di Isla Vista, California, Amerika Serikat (AS) yang menewaskan 6 orang dan melukai puluhan orang lainnya. CBC belum bisa memverifikasi apakah postingan akun Facebook ini benar-benar ditulis Minassian. Namun diketahui bahwa Rodger marah-marah soal banyak wanita yang menolaknya dalam video yang diposting sebelum serangan terjadi. Saat itu, Rodger menyebut pria seperti dirinya sebagai ' incel ', kependekan dari ' involuntary celibate '. Dalam postingan Facebooknya, Minassian menyatakan 'Pemberontakan incel telah dimulai. Kami akan menghancurkan semua Chads dan Stacys', 'Chads' merupakan sebutan untuk pria-pria yang gampang mendapatkan banyak wanita. 'Stacys' merupakan sebutan bagi wanita yang menolak banyak pria. Kedua istilah itu disebut Rodger dalam videonya sebelum melakukan serangan mematikan tahun 2014 lalu.
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.
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.
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
14/50 11 April 2018 Seasonal winds washed tons of debris ashore at Matahari Terbit beach, near Sanur, Bali, Indonesia. Reuters
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
25/50 31 March 2018 Mourners hold back a relative of Palestinian Hamdan Abu Amshah, who was killed along the Israel border with Gaza, during his funeral in Beit Hanoun town. Reuters
26/50 30 March 2018 Israeli soldiers shot tear gas grenades towards the Palestinian tent city protest commemorating Land Day. The day marks the killing of six Arab Israelis during 1976 demonstrations against Israeli confiscations of Arab land. AFP/Getty
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
28/50 28 March 2018 French gendarmes escort the coffin of the late Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame transported by car during a funeral procession leaving the Pantheon as part of a national tribute in Paris. The French President will lead a national commemoration to hostage-swap policeman Arnaud Beltrame killed in jihadist attack. AFP/Getty
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
30/50 26 March 2018 At least 64 shoppers have been killed in fire at a shopping centre in Russia. A further 16 people were still missing after flames broke out at the four-storey Winter Cherry mall in the city of Kemerovo in Siberia, according to Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov. The fire was extinguished in the morning after burning through the night. Parts of the building were still smouldering and the floors of the cinema hall had caved in in places, another emergency official said. Russian Emergencies Ministry via Reuters
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
32/50 24 March 2018 Students attend the ‘March For Our Lives’ in Washington. In the wake of the Florida attack, there has been a widespread effort to ban assault rifle. Getty
33/50 23 March 2018 Police at the scene of a hostage situation in a supermarket in Trebes. An armed man took hostages in a supermarket in southern France, killing three and injuring about a dozen others, police said. A French minister confirmed the gunman had been shot dead by police. Reuters
34/50 22 March 2018 A boy rows his boat in the polluted waters of the Brahmaputra river on World Water Day in Guwahati, India. Reuters
35/50 21 March 2018 Kosovo's opposition lawmakers release a teargas canister inside the country's parliament in before a vote for an agreement to ratify or not a border demarcation deal signed in 2015 with Montenegro. AFP/Getty
36/50 20 March 2018 People carrying luggage leave the Russian Embassy in London and board a van bearing diplomatic plates. Dozens of people including adults with children arrived at the Russian embassy in the morning and then left carrying luggage in vehicles bearing diplomatic registration plates. Britain last week announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats over the spy poisoning row, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Moscow. AFP/Getty
37/50 19 March 2018 The Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft is mounted on the launch pad at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan AFP/Getty
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
47/50 9 March 2018 A television screen showing pictures of US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at a railway station in Seoul. AFP
48/50 8 March 2018 Protesters form triangles with their hands during a demonstration for women’s rights in Bilbao, Spain. Reuters
49/50 7 March 2018 A labourer works on a salt pan in the outskirts of the Nagaur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan ahead of International Women’s day. AFP/Getty
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.
