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pyotr filipivich <trumptheluser01@hotmail.com> wrote in news:XnsAD10687265734fdsa@95.216.243.224:

Anonymous wrote

Trudeau took all their guns. They can't defend themselves.

On the first unseasonably warm day of the year, a bustling area in north Toronto sees a variety of pedestrians out enjoying the sun: mothers push strollers, teens leaving school chat in groups and office workers in suits gather outside for their lunch breaks.

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There are few visible signs that the deadliest attack in Toronto’s history
— and one of Canada’s worst mass murders — took place on this stretch of
Yonge Street on a similarly sunny day five years ago, when a man
deliberately drove a rented van down a busy sidewalk on April 23, 2018.

In a local park, a modest plaque provides one small reminder of the
rampage that left 10 dead and 16 injured that day. A permanent city
memorial is still in the works.

For some who live and work in the area, however, memories of the attack
remain vivid in their minds.

“Every time I work around here, every time I crosswalk, I always remind
myself, maybe I’ve got to be careful before I start walking,” says Jiyong
Lee, who lives in the neighbourhood and works at a butcher shop on the
attack route.

“That’s what I have in my head every time I work here and walking around
here. I cannot get rid of it.”

Lee remembers the day clearly.

He had stepped out of a subway station after attending classes at Seneca College to find covered bodies on the street and a stretch of road closed
by police.

The attack had a significant effect on his family and the community, which
has a large Korean population, he says.

“They were scared, they were upset about what happened,” he says, adding
that the attack isn’t discussed that often among area residents now.

Frank Herbert, who frequents Mel Lastman Square in the area, says he saw multiple pedestrians get hit that day.

The scene, which he describes as “devastating,” has stayed with him.

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“I saw the van, people falling down. I ran out to help. It was almost unbelievable that someone would do that,” he says. “It’s like an open
wound.”

Ryan Dillon, bar manager at the St. Louis Bar & Grill in North York, was working when the rampage began. He recalls some pedestrians rushing in
while others tried to help the injured outside.

The bar stayed open through the day, despite recommendations that all area businesses close.

“Everyone coming in was just shook. It was a weird, somber kind of
feeling,” Dillon says.

“It was a weird decision but we stayed open and people were actually very
happy that we did … I feel like everyone needed a friend in that moment.”

The 37-year-old, who grew up in the area, says he feels residents in the community are now more guarded.

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“That was the day we realized, you know what, maybe we aren’t as safe as
we think we are living in this area,” he says.

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That feeling is something that We Love Willowdale, a community
organization formed after the tragedy, has tried to address.

Originally formed to support victims, their families and affected
community members, it’s evolved to have a broader mandate of maintaining
the community connections forged in the aftermath of the attack. It has
since joined the NeighbourLink North York charity.

Sebastian Biasucci, NeighbourLink North York’s marketing and event
manager, says talking about the van attack can be triggering for some.

“It goes back to that day where suddenly the eyes of the world were on our community,” he says, adding that the anniversary provokes a range of
responses among community members.

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“Some people remember like it was yesterday and for some it feels
distant.”

In 2021, a court found Alek Minassian, who claimed to be angered by women
who wouldn’t sleep with him and radicalized on the internet, guilty of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.

The presiding judge found Minassian carried out the van attack to achieve notoriety. He was sentenced to life in prison last year with no
possibility of parole for 25 years. He’s appealing his conviction.

Betty Forsyth, Ji Hun Kim, So He Chung, Geraldine Brady, Chul Min Kang,
Anne Marie D’Amico, Munir Najjar, Dorothy Sewell, Andrea Bradden and
Renuka Amarasingha died in the April 2018 attack. Amaresh Tesfamariam died
from her injuries more than three years later.

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The City of Toronto says plans for a permanent memorial honouring the
lives lost are still being finalized.

“The city continues to aim to take direction from the victims’ families,
which has meant being purposeful and allowing sufficient time to ensure
those impacted by the events have time to heal before making plans for a permanent memorial,” says spokeswoman Ashika Theyyil.

For Biasucci, the attack’s fifth anniversary reinforces the community’s
shared history.

“We are linked because of this tragedy, even though our cultures are
different or maybe our upbringings or our politics. But at the end of the
day, we have to just look after one another,” he says.

“My hope is that it’s not just tragedies that bring us together.

<https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/five-years-later-memories-of- devastating-toronto-van-attack-live-on>

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