Toronto will remember 23rd April 2018 for a long time. That’s the day Alek Minassian used his rental van to mow down 26 innocent people. His victims ages spanned between 22 and 94 years old.
Alek Minassian (28) was found guilty of 10 charges of murder and a further 16 charges of attempted murder this week in Toronto’s criminal courts reports the BBC.
Minassian told crime investigators he had set out to kill as many people as possible and was inspired by the “incel” movement who blame their lack of sexual activity on women.
The court heard how Minassian selected the hire van to be small enough to be mobile but large enough to inflict maximum damage.
During Minassian’s trial he admitted the attack but his lawyers argued he was not criminally responsible due to his autism spectrum disorder.
Judge Molloy dismissed the lawyers claim saying it was an “act of a reasoning mind.”
Throughout the ruling, the judge refused to name the attacker referring to him as John Doe as she did not wish to give him notoriety “he sought from the start”. Whilst accepting his autism diagnosis (ASD) she ruled he was capable of understanding his actions were both legally and morally wrong.
Autism Canada denounced what it called “egregious claims” by Minassian’s lawyer that the man didn’t know what he was doing was wrong because he has autism spectrum disorder.
Minassian will automatically receive a life sentence — but it is not yet known if the Judge will issue consecutive or concurrent parole ineligibility periods for his multiple murders.
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