{"id":59728,"date":"2020-04-23T11:16:32","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T15:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/?p=59728"},"modified":"2020-04-23T11:17:03","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T15:17:03","slug":"we-will-not-be-broken-mayor-says-on-deadly-van-attack-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/local\/gta\/we-will-not-be-broken-mayor-says-on-deadly-van-attack-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We will not be broken,’ mayor says on deadly van attack anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"
The second anniversary of the deadly van attack in Toronto is even more difficult this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent shooting rampage in Nova Scotia, Toronto Mayor John Tory said Thursday.<\/p>\n
The mayor started a day of virtual commemoration for the 10 people killed and 16 injured on April 23, 2018, when a man drove a rented van down a busy sidewalk on Yonge Street in north Toronto.<\/p>\n “We will not be broken,” Tory said live on YouTube. “Let us take inspiration, both from those we lost, and from the heroes who responded to the tragedy, as we rise to the challenges of today.”<\/p>\n A local community group will host a virtual vigil Thursday night rather than gathering at the site of the attack, and Tory has asked mourners to avoid gathering or placing flowers and other items near the site.<\/p>\n Shortly after his arrest two years ago, Alek Minassian told police he committed the attack for retribution against society after being shunned by women for years.<\/p>\n The judge overseeing the trial, which has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said it will turn on Minassian’s state of mind \u2014 not whether he carried out the attack.<\/p>\n Tory said the city will never forget those who died and were injured that day.<\/p>\n