The incident on Yonge Street and Finch Avenue East occurred just after 1 pm local time. The Toronto Police Department which said in a press conference shortly before 5pm local time that 9 people have been killed and more than a dozen others are injured.
Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital said five of the injured are in a critical condition and another two are in a serious condition.
Police say they have one person in custody. The investigation is ongoing and the police are appealing to eyewitnesses to come forward.
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.
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 scene.
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.
The scene of the incident is approximately 30 kilometers from downtown Toronto, where government ministers from France, US, Colombia, Croatia, and Colombia were meeting about an upcoming G7 summit.
Police have dismissed reports of a shooting in the area.
