10 dead, 15 injured in Attack on Toronto’s Iranian Quarter

Ten people have died and at least 15 others were injured after a driver ran down pedestrians in Toronto’s northern Yonge-Finch neighborhood on April 23. The area — nicknamed Tehranto or the “Iranian Quarter” for its abundance of Iranian-born residents and businesses — is easily one of the most Iranian-populated areas in the world outside Iran. 

The attack took place around 1:30pm local time on April 23 and Toronto Police arrested a suspect shortly after. CBS News and other outlets named him as Alek Minassian, a student at Seneca College who lives in nearby suburb Richmond Hill, also home to many Iranians. The suspect’s name strongly suggests that he is of Armenian origin and might hail from the Iranian-Armenian community. 

Leyla, a student at York University, who was at Iranian Plaza on Yonge Street to shop for Iranian food and other groceries, witnessed the attack. 

“There was no doubt that the driver was deliberately hitting people,” she told IranWire. “It was unbelievable. He got on the curb and started driving into people.” 

Along with Iranians, Koreans make up a large part of the city’s ethnic population. A Korean student who spoke to IranWire anonymously described what he saw as he was out buying juice.

“I couldn’t see what was going on as I was inside a shop,” he told IranWire. “But after hearing a lot of noise and shouting, the van had gotten away, toward the south. We then saw some people on the sidewalk, covered in blood.” 

Several Iranians in the area took to Twitter to express disbelief.

“Even in Canada you can’t run away from these crazies. #Terrorists,” Helia Ghazi, who works at a bank nearby, tweeted.

The hashtag reflects what many people have been thinking, and how they have classified the attack in their own minds. But officials have yet to determine the motivation for the attack. 

Iranian local Mohammad Oliyayifard saw the news of the attack on television and began worrying about his two children, who attend a school nearby. 

“I quickly called my wife and she went to get the kids from school,” Oliyayifard told IranWire. “Later we found out that, unfortunately, the school’s caretaker had lost one of his kids in the attack.” 

Like many people living in the area, the local member of parliament is of Iranian origin. Ali Ehsassi went on his Facebook page to give his reaction. 

“As we wait for more information about this terrible incident,” Ehsassi wrote, “we keep everyone involved in our thoughts and hearts. Emergency crews are on the scene, and are urging others to stay away as they investigate.” 

The news didn’t take long to make the headlines miles away in Iran. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have links with the Canadian city and know someone living in the northern areas of Toronto and its adjacent suburbs. The details of those killed are yet to be published — and until then, people wait in worried, anxious anticipation.