Sentencing of Toronto van attacker put over until end of may: Spokesperson

On April 23, 2018, then 25-year-old Alex Minassian drove a van along a sidewalk through one of Toronto’s busiest pedestrian corridors for over a mile, ultimately killing ten and injuring 16. Minassian was found guilty on all 26 counts of murder and attempted murder by Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge Anne Molloy earlier this month.

"On March 18, 2021, this matter was adjourned to May 31, 2021 at 10:00 am to be spoken to. No sentencing submissions were made at today’s appearance," Brian Gray said in a statement on Thursday.

According to The Canadian Press, Molloy did not provide a reason for the delay in proceeding during the morning hearing, which was closed to the media and public.

The former IT-student had pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his lawyers arguing that Minassian was not criminally responsible for his actions because of a mental disorder. However, Molloy rejected the argument, ruling that Minassian was fully aware of impact of his actions and the attack was reasoned and carefully planned.

Following the massacre, Minassian published messages on Facebook in which he saluted Elliot Rodger, who killed six and injured 13 in a shooting rampage at the University of California at Santa Barbara four years earlier for similar reasons, and proclaimed that the "incel rebellion" had begun.

In her reasoning, Molloy had noted that Minassian, admittedly guided by incel ideology – an online subculture of so-called "involuntary celibates," who are unable to find a romantic or sexual partner and espouse hostile views towards sexually active members of the public, particularly women – wanted to achieve fame and notoriety through the attack, and had been fantasizing about committing such a crime for over a decade.