Toronto: The recent Toronto van attack that killed nearly 10 people while injuring 15 others, the suspect behind the attack reportedly attended a high school programme for students with special needs according to the reports.
The Police said the suspect identified as 25-year-old Alek Minassian was arrested within half an hour after he carried out the van attack which he drove into the crowd in north Toronto.
The suspect’s former classmate Shereen Chami said he was not never a violent person. In fact, Minassian was a part of the Thornlea Secondary School’s programme for students with special needs.
She said she remembers Minassian walking the halls of the school with his hands together and his head down while making meowing noises.
“He wasn’t a social person, but from what I remember he was absolutely harmless,” she recalled.
Special needs is a term used by the Canadian Education system which covers the learning and behavioral difficulties faced by the students.
The Toronto Police said Minassian was not previously known to them and his motives were still unknown.
While Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said the driver’s actions “definitely looked deliberate” which led to the van attack.
Minassian’s graduated from Thornlea secondary school in the year 2011. His FB page could not be accessed through the social networking site.
In a September blog post, Minassian had said he started working for Seneca College’s Centre for Development software until 2014. Further details into the suspect’s life are unknown to the department.
A September 2013 blog post said he had started to work at Seneca College’s Centre for Development of Open Technology. He posted about his progress developing software there until March 2014.