The man who plowed a van into pedestrians in Toronto in 2018, killing 10 people, was found guilty on all 26 counts of first degree murder and attempted murder, numerous sources reported.
Alek Minnasian, 28, was determined to have acted with a “reasoning mind” and with no remorse or “empathy for his victims” when he drove a rented van into a busy sidewalk on April 23, 2018, killing 10 and attempting to kill 16 others, Justice Anne Molloy said Wednesday morning, according to CBC.
#Breaking: Alek Minassian guilty of ten counts of first-degree murder for Yonge St. van attack. https://t.co/Z3uZ9WUrd7
— Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) March 3, 2021
Minassian had pleaded not guilty although he admitted to the attack. His attorneys claimed that his autism spectrum disorder deprived him of the capacity to develop empathy and the ability to understand that his actions were wrong, according to CBC.
“He freely chose the option that was morally wrong, knowing what the consequences would be for himself, and for everybody else,” Molloy said during the virtual trial. “It does not matter that he does not have remorse, nor empathize with the victims. Lack of empathy for the suffering of victims, even an incapacity to empathize for whatever reason, does not constitute a defence.”
Minassian told police he carried out the attack to punish society for years of being rejected by women. He called himself an “incel,” which is short for involuntary celebate, and refers to a since-banned Reddit group where young men blamed women for their shortcomings and lack of sexual success with women.
Alek Minassian found guilty for killing 10 people in Toronto van attack after judge rejects NCR plea https://t.co/9jlwySKEVw pic.twitter.com/6NsOTreYN4
— National Post (@nationalpost) March 3, 2021
“The incel rebellion has already begun,” Minassian posted on Facebook immediately before the attack, according to the BBC. Minassian said he was “radicalized” at around the same time of an incel-inspired attack at the University of California in 2014, when Elliot Rodger, a self-described incel, killed 6 people and himself.
“I feel like I accomplished my mission,” Minassian told police when they asked him how he felt about the harm he caused, the BBC reported.
Molloy referred to Minassian as “John Doe” in her decision, noting that attention and media coverage motivated Minassian into committing his crimes and was “what this man sought from the start,” according to CBC.
Nearly two years after the Toronto van attack, police charged a Canadian teenager with committing “incel”-inspired terrorism in May after he stabbed 3 people at a spa in Toronto. (RELATED: Authorities Rule Fatal Stabbing In Toronto ‘Incel’-Inspired Terrorism)