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   From: ks@dont-email.me   
      
   pyotr filipivich  wrote in   
   news:XnsAD10687265734fdsa@95.216.243.224:   
      
   > Anonymous wrote   
   >   
   >> Trudeau took all their guns.  They can't defend themselves.   
      
   On the first unseasonably warm day of the year, a bustling area in north   
   Toronto sees a variety of pedestrians out enjoying the sun: mothers push   
   strollers, teens leaving school chat in groups and office workers in suits   
   gather outside for their lunch breaks.   
      
   Article content   
   There are few visible signs that the deadliest attack in Toronto’s history   
   — and one of Canada’s worst mass murders — took place on this stretch of   
   Yonge Street on a similarly sunny day five years ago, when a man   
   deliberately drove a rented van down a busy sidewalk on April 23, 2018.   
      
   In a local park, a modest plaque provides one small reminder of the   
   rampage that left 10 dead and 16 injured that day. A permanent city   
   memorial is still in the works.   
      
   For some who live and work in the area, however, memories of the attack   
   remain vivid in their minds.   
      
   “Every time I work around here, every time I crosswalk, I always remind   
   myself, maybe I’ve got to be careful before I start walking,” says Jiyong   
   Lee, who lives in the neighbourhood and works at a butcher shop on the   
   attack route.   
      
   “That’s what I have in my head every time I work here and walking around   
   here. I cannot get rid of it.”   
      
   Lee remembers the day clearly.   
      
   He had stepped out of a subway station after attending classes at Seneca   
   College to find covered bodies on the street and a stretch of road closed   
   by police.   
      
   The attack had a significant effect on his family and the community, which   
   has a large Korean population, he says.   
      
   “They were scared, they were upset about what happened,” he says, adding   
   that the attack isn’t discussed that often among area residents now.   
      
   Frank Herbert, who frequents Mel Lastman Square in the area, says he saw   
   multiple pedestrians get hit that day.   
      
   The scene, which he describes as “devastating,” has stayed with him.   
      
   Article content   
   “I saw the van, people falling down. I ran out to help. It was almost   
   unbelievable that someone would do that,” he says. “It’s like an open   
   wound.”   
      
   Ryan Dillon, bar manager at the St. Louis Bar & Grill in North York, was   
   working when the rampage began. He recalls some pedestrians rushing in   
   while others tried to help the injured outside.   
      
   The bar stayed open through the day, despite recommendations that all area   
   businesses close.   
      
   “Everyone coming in was just shook. It was a weird, somber kind of   
   feeling,” Dillon says.   
      
   “It was a weird decision but we stayed open and people were actually very   
   happy that we did … I feel like everyone needed a friend in that moment.”   
      
   The 37-year-old, who grew up in the area, says he feels residents in the   
   community are now more guarded.   
      
   Article content   
   “That was the day we realized, you know what, maybe we aren’t as safe as   
   we think we are living in this area,” he says.   
      
   RECOMMENDED VIDEO   
      
   That feeling is something that We Love Willowdale, a community   
   organization formed after the tragedy, has tried to address.   
      
   Originally formed to support victims, their families and affected   
   community members, it’s evolved to have a broader mandate of maintaining   
   the community connections forged in the aftermath of the attack. It has   
   since joined the NeighbourLink North York charity.   
      
   Sebastian Biasucci, NeighbourLink North York’s marketing and event   
   manager, says talking about the van attack can be triggering for some.   
      
   “It goes back to that day where suddenly the eyes of the world were on our   
   community,” he says, adding that the anniversary provokes a range of   
   responses among community members.   
      
   Article content   
   “Some people remember like it was yesterday and for some it feels   
   distant.”   
      
   In 2021, a court found Alek Minassian, who claimed to be angered by women   
   who wouldn’t sleep with him and radicalized on the internet, guilty of 10   
   counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.   
      
   The presiding judge found Minassian carried out the van attack to achieve   
   notoriety. He was sentenced to life in prison last year with no   
   possibility of parole for 25 years. He’s appealing his conviction.   
      
   Betty Forsyth, Ji Hun Kim, So He Chung, Geraldine Brady, Chul Min Kang,   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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