Van attack suspect Alek Minassian’s statement to police to be made public Friday

By News Staff and The Canadian Press

The statement Alek Minassian gave to police in the hours after his takedown following a deadly van attack in Toronto is to be made public on Friday.

The statement and accompanying video were under a publication ban thus far, but in August Justice Anne Molloy, who will oversee Minassian’s trial next year, ordered it be lifted this month.

Minassian’s lawyer had sought the ban in order to prevent the potential tainting of witnesses at trial, which will begin Feb. 10, but Molloy rejected the argument.

“It is hard to imagine a witness being called who will not already know that Mr. Minassian drove a van down a Toronto sidewalk killing and injuring many people,” she wrote in her decision at the time.

“Mr. Minassian’s arrest beside the van he had been driving was broadcast on television moments after it happened and was viewed by thousands of people, likely including those prospective witnesses who knew him, as it was available on the internet for all to see,” she added.

Several media organizations – including The Canadian Press – fought the defence request for the publication ban, which will now be lifted on Friday.

Minassian is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder in the incident that took place on Yonge Street on April 23, 2018.

The video of his arrest that Molloy referred to in her decision went viral around the world and Const. Ken Lam was hailed as a hero for his calm takedown of Minassian, even as the suspect repeatedly appeared to reach for a weapon.

Speaking to media on behalf of Lam two days after the attack, Toronto’s deputy police chief Peter Yuen said the officer did not want to be called a hero.

“He wants the public not to call him a hero. He’s Officer Ken Lam. He’s real. He’s got a name, he’s got a badge. He’s not a hero,” he said.

 

Justice Molloy has said that Minassian has admitted to being the driver of the van and as such, “the central issue at trial will be Mr. Minassian’s state of mind at the relevant times.”

Minassian’s trial is set to begin Feb. 10, 2020.

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