Who Is Alek Minassian? Alleged Toronto Van Killer May Have Praised Elliot Rodger In Facebook Post

Alek Minassian, the 25-year-old man accused of steering a rental van into pedestrians Monday in North Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 15, was charged on Tuesday with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.

Officials confirmed that the event did not involve national security but “definitely looked deliberate.”

Toronto police confirmed Minassian is from Richmond Hill, Ontario, and that he does not have a criminal record. Former classmates described him as socially withdrawn, but not particularly prone to violence when they knew him. He was a special needs student at Thornlea Secondary School in Toronto, according to Reuters.

Minassian graduated from Thornlea in 2011 and apparently attended Seneca College after that, specializing in developing software. All of that information came from an Internet Archive restoration of his now-defunct Facebook page.

However, his profile on the popular social network may have revealed more. Not long after the attack, a Facebook post seemingly from Minassian’s account expressed admiration for online hate groups. The post is gone now, but a Facebook employee reportedly confirmed its authenticity to Buzzfeed News.

“The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!” the post read.

“Incel” is an abbreviation of “involuntary celibacy,” or some variation thereof. The word gained traction in recent years in certain online communities to describe men who hold misogynist views stemming from a lack of sexual activity. Reddit banned the site’s large Incels community in 2017.

Elliot Rodger infamously published a manifesto detailing his views on women before killing six people in Isla Vista, California, in 2014. Rodger’s manifesto referenced a lack of sexual attention from women.

Buzzfeed also spoke to a woman who attended elementary school with Minassian. She noted that, as a child, he was prone to tantrums and was known to hit people. The woman did not attend school with him after the age of 10.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the deadly attack Tuesday morning, emphasizing that it did not indicate any terroristic threat towards Canadian national security.

“The events that took place yesterday in Toronto were a senseless attack and a horrific tragedy,” Trudeau said, according to Global News. “On behalf of all Canadians I offer my deepest heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of all those who were killed and we wish a full recovery to those injured and stand with the families and friends of the victims.”