van plows into pedestrians
Nine people have been killed and 16 more are injured after a white van struck a number of pedestrians in Toronto, police said.
The incident on Yonge Street and Finch Avenue East occurred just after 1 pm local time, according to the Toronto Police Department.
Photos and videos from the scene show groups of onlookers gathered behind police cordons as emergency services deal with the aftermath of the incident. One video shows a person bleeding heavily while another shows a body covered with a piece of tarpaulin.
According to local reports, police have detained the driver of the vehicle. The area has been closed off.
Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital says it received seven patients after the incident. The hospital said on Twitter that its emergency department is on lockdown as an “added precaution.”
Eyewitness Alex Shaker told CTV News that the van mounted the curb at high speed before travelling southbound.
“He started going down on the sidewalk and crumbling down people one by one,” Shaker said.
Bystanders have posted images to social media showing the aftermath and a number of emergency vehicles tending to The thoroughfares of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue East are located close to a metro station in east-west Toronto. The Toronto Transport Commission has closed off the Yonge Street station due to the police investigation.