COMMUNITY IMPACT STATEMENT

DÉCLARATION AU NOM D’UNE COLLECTIVITÉ

SUPERIOR/ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE
COUR SUPÉRIEURE DE JUSTICE/DE JUSTICE DE L’ONTARIO
CANADA Form / Formule 34.3
PROVINCE OF ONTARIO Subsection 722.2(2) of the Criminal Code
PROVINCE DE L’ONTARIO Paragraphe 722.2(2) du Code criminel

(Region / Région) Case/File No. / N° du cas/dossier

Court Location: Superior Court of Justice - 361 University Avewnue, Toronto, ON

Adresse du tribunal :

In the matter of: R. v. ALEK MINASSIAN

Dans l’affaire de : R c. (insert name of accused/offender / nom de l’accusé/du délinquant)
Willowdale community members, compiled by Yonge Street Tragedy
Name of community representative: Commemoration Committee
Nom du représentant communautaire :

This form may be used to provide a description of the harm or loss suffered by a community as the result of the
commission of an offence, as well as a description of the impact of the offence on the community. You may attach
additional pages if you need more space.
La présente formule peut être utilisée pour présenter une description des dommages ou des pertes causés à une
collectivité par suite de la perpétration d’une infraction ainsi que des répercussions que l’infraction a eues sur elle.
Vous pouvez ajouter des pages additionnelles au besoin.

Your statement must not include

La déclaration ne peut comporter :
. any statement about the offence or the offender that is not relevant to the harm suffered by the community;
de propos concernant l’infraction ou le délinquant qui ne sont pas pertinents au regard des pertes ou dommages
subis par la collectivité;
. any unproven allegations;
d’allégations non fondées;
. any comments about any offence for which the offender was not convicted;
de commentaires sur des infractions pour lesquelles le délinquant n’a pas été condamné;
. any complaint about any individual, other than the offender, who was involved in the investigation or prosecution of
the offence; or
de plaintes au sujet d’un particulier, autre que le délinquant, qui était associé à l’enquête ou à la poursuite de l’infraction;
. except with the court’s approval, an opinion or recommendation about the sentence.
sauf avec la permission du tribunal, de points de vue ou de recommandations au sujet de la peine.

Name of community on whose behalf the statement is made: Willowdale

Nom de la collectivité au nom de laquelle est faite la déclaration :
Explain how the statement reflects this community’s views:
Expliquer comment la déclaration reflète les vues de la collectivité :

The main role that the Yonge Street Tragedy Commemoration Committee plays is to coordinate and host
the annual vigils on April 23. The Committee's membership is comprised of mostly local residents, often
referred to as "We Love Willowdale", representatives from the Willowdale Interfaith Council, the Willowdale
Church Coalition, and all elected official's offices. The Committee also has as one of its members, a family
who lost a child/sibling in the tragedy. The Committee posted a request on a public forum for Willowdale
residents asking for feedback on this form. There was shared over a dozen thoughtful responses. This
Community Victim Impact Statement is made up of those responses from community and Committee
members.

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 You may present a detailed account of the impact the offence has had on the community. The following sections are examples
of information you may wish to include in your statement. You are not required to include all of this information.
Vous pouvez présenter un compte rendu détaillé des répercussions de l’infraction sur la collectivité. Les sections ci-après ne
constituent que des exemples de renseignements que vous pouvez inclure dans votre déclaration. Vous n’êtes pas obligé
d’inclure tous ces renseignements.

Emotional Impact
Répercussions d’ordre émotif
Describe how the offence has affected community members emotionally. For example, think of
Veuillez décrire les répercussions d’ordre émotif que l’infraction a eues sur les membres de la collectivité, par exemple, en ce
qui concerne :
. community members’ lifestyles and activities;
le mode de vie et les activités des membres de la collectivité;
. community members’ relationships with others in the community and outside it;
les relations des membres de la collectivité avec les autres, à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur de la collectivité;
. community members’ ability to work, attend school or study;
la capacité des membres de la collectivité à travailler, à fréquenter l’école ou à étudier;
. community members’ feelings, emotions and reactions as they relate to the offence; and
les sentiments, les émotions et les réactions des membres de la collectivité à l’égard de l’infraction;
. the community’s sense of belonging to the region.
le sens d’appartenance de la collectivité à la région.

This horrific attack had a profound emotional impact on the Willowdale community. We want to highlight the
emotional impacts on the community members' ability to work and study; changes to lifestyle and activities;
feelings of safety and vulnerability; forming and maintaining relationships, and the direct impact this attack
had on women.

There were many businesses and workplaces along the path of the tragedy, and many people witnessed the
attack and the aftermath. Committee members spoke with employees in the area who had nobody to turn to,
to seek help at their workplaces, as their workplaces were "ill-prepared to deal with a tragedy on this scale".
They were also unable to take time off of work, and had to deal with PTSD from seeing the bodies and
wreckage from the incident. They were also unable to sleep and focus on their work. Other employees
resorted to working remotely from home, feeling unsafe to go back to work for several weeks.

Students were similarly affected. Several young students had witnessed the incident and the immediate
aftermath. Many sought counselling help from trauma counsellors at their schools, being unable to complete
their assignments, and traumatized by the sights they witnessed. Yonge Street is where many students
commute to school, visit with friends, and go to shop. Fearing the attack will happen again, rather than
focusing on their friendships and their grades, students were preoccupied with thinking about if they or their
friends will have their life taken if this incident happens again.

A number of women reported how shaken and disturbed they were by the hateful attack. Their sense of
safety on Yonge Street has still not recovered, and they continue to refrain from wearing earphones that
would block their ability to hear screeching tires or screams, and will only walk facing traffic rather than have
their backs to cars coming towards them. Other women reported that their view of the world was darkened
by an attack that aimed at people like them. These changes are horrible and a tragic outcome of the Yonge
Street Attack. Considerable effort is being made to help and support women who are feeling these things.

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 Physical Impact
Répercussions d’ordre physique
Describe how the offence has affected community members physically. For example, think of
Veuillez décrire les répercussions d’ordre physique que l’infraction a eues sur les membres de la collectivité, par exemple, en
ce qui concerne :
. the ability of community members to access services; and
la capacité des membres de la collectivité d’avoir accès aux services;
. changes in transportation and routes taken to and from school, work, shopping, etc.
les changements apportés aux modes de transport et aux trajets empruntés pour se rendre à l’école, au lieu de travail et
aux magasins, etc.

The Yonge Street attack disrupted the patterns of community members, especially in the ways that we
would shop, visit with neighbours, choose modes of transportation, or access services and amenitities on
Yonge Street. Some neighbours have stated that they have less frequently walked on Yonge Street since
April 23, 2018, and still others have said they refuse to walk on that street now and take other parallel
streets to go north or south. Other neighbours have reported that they prefer taking transit options like the
TTC or ride share since walking or biking feels unsafe.

These choices have left a prevailing sense of insecurity and fear on Yonge Street for many community
members who remember the attack. However, with so many new people in Willowdale it also seems now -
four years later - that lots of folks just do not remember the attack and engage the area with ease. This
disregard for Mr. Doe brings comfort to those of us who have lived in Willowdale for longer.

Economic Impact
Répercussions d’ordre économique
Describe how the offence has affected the community financially. For example, think of
Veuillez décrire les répercussions d’ordre économique que l’infraction a eues sur la collectivité, par exemple, en ce qui concerne :
. any reduction in the number of visitors or tourists to the region;
toute diminution du nombre de visiteurs ou de touristes dans la région;
. the value of any property that was lost or damaged and the cost of repairs or replacement; and
la valeur des biens perdus ou détruits et le coût de réparation ou de remplacement de ces biens;
. any costs or losses that are not covered by insurance.
les coûts, pertes ou dépenses qui ne sont pas couverts par l’assurance.
Please note that this is not an application for compensation or restitution.
Veuillez noter que la présente déclaration ne constitue pas une demande d’indemnisation ou de dédommagement.

The economic impact of the Yonge Street attack was immediatley shocking, but was short-lived. Businesses
on Yonge Street suffered for a couple weeks with a severe decline in customers, but no businesses reported
closing down as a direct result of the attack. Instead, after the first vigil and then in the response of the
community to come together anew, there was a marked increase in business activity among small and
larger businesses. Among business owners, the general sense has been that the Yonge Street Tragedy
brought customers closer to one another, which, according to some business owners, resulted in customers
lingering in their shops to speak together while spending more on products. This was, of course, not an
immediate impact but felt within a few weeks after the terrible attack.

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 Fears for security
Craintes concernant la sécurité
Describe any fears that community members have for their security or that of their family and friends. For example, think of
concerns with respect to contact with the offender.
Veuillez décrire toute crainte que les membres de la collectivité ont pour leur sécurité ou celle de leur famille et de leurs amis,
par exemple, des préoccupations concernant des contacts avec le délinquant.

Prior to the Yonge Street van attack, Willowdale was generally considered as a safe, family friendly,
neighbourhood. This feeling of safety and friendliness was severely ruptured by the attack. Following the
attack, members of the community automatically congregated at several different locations. Attitudes
displayed included horror, anger, being violated, empathy to the victims and the loss of the feeling of safety
and security. These sites continued to be venues for people to get together to support each other and
express their emotions by leaving items in support of the victims, their families and the community. A Vigil
was arranged at Mel Lastman Square that was held following a walk of members of the Willowdale
Community from Finch to the Square, thereby demonstrating the community’s need to feel safety in
numbers. Volunteers reported interchanges with a number of members of the community who attended the
Vigil that projected a sense of loss of security and, in some cases, even a fear to be in the general vicinity of
Yonge Street. Professional help was available at public functions following the attack. While it is probably
fair to say that the feeling of safety and security in the Willowdale community has been restored, the
community remembers and will continue to remember this horrendous assault on the very essence of
community life.

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 Drawing, poem or letter (attach a separate page if needed)
Dessin, poème, lettre (joindre une page additionnelle au besoin)
You may use this space to draw a picture or write a poem or letter if it will help you express the impact that the offence has had
on the community.
Vous pouvez utiliser cet espace pour faire un dessin ou écrire un poème ou une lettre si cela peut vous aider à dépeindre les
répercussions que l’infraction a eues sur la collectivité.

I would like to present/read this statement in court.

J’aimerais présenter/lire la déclaration devant le tribunal.

To the best of my knowledge, the information contained in this statement is true.

À ma connaissance, les renseignements contenus dans la présente déclaration sont exacts.

Dated this 30 day of May , 20 22 ,

Fait ce jour de
at Willowdale .
à(au) (location / lieu) Signature of Declarant / Signature du déclarant
Yonge Street Tragedy Commemoration
Your name: Committee Chair, Jesse James
Votre nom :

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I provided CPR at the scene of the van attack and the horror I witnessed has affected my sense of
happiness and safety on an ongoing basis.

After seeing the person I performed CPR on passing away at the scene, I questioned my CPR techniques
and lived with years of guilt and self-doubt as a healthcare professional in training. I replayed the
sequence of events on that day thousands of times in my head, questioning if I could have done things
differently and if she would still be here today. Furthermore, I experienced nightmares and flashbacks
and I continue therapy for my depression and PTSD symptoms. I struggled with my academic training
and had almost lost a school year as I dealt with the trauma I witnessed and experienced. Overall, I am
a less happy and more anxious person and the event changed how I relate to others in personal and
professional settings.

My own invisible psychological scars are insignificant in comparison to the tragic loss of lives which
continue to affect the families of the victims. I feel a profound sense of sorrow when I think of all the
lost potential of so many lives. I am troubled by how much suffering this man caused and that he
appears to show a lack of remorse for what he has done. My greatest fear is that this man would ever be
able to carry out such an act again.

In summary, as someone who witnessed this event, my world is changed forever. However, it is nothing
compared to the suffering and grief caused to the victims and their families.

Sincerely,
Jiaxin Jiang
Choices. Everyone has choices and they make them every day. This one day in
particular, a choice was made that changed the lives of so many people, all of them,
innocent.

April 23, 2018 is a day that I will never forget.

To this day, when I close my eyes and think about what happened, I have flashbacks; I
see the victims, the fear, the confusion and hear the panic in the voices.

I live with the thought, "was there more I could have done to help?" It’s guilt and
remorse I still feel even though caused by another person's evil choices.

By happenstance, being one of the first people on scene as a first responder, I was the
last person to see them alive even as I was giving the victims medical attention,
administering CPR and/or being the last voice they heard.

I am unable to forgive the individual who caused such a horrific scene and made
Toronto an international event, eventually known as the “Toronto van attack.” The
incident is the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history. Eleven people died
and 15 were injured.

I did not endure physical wounds, such as the innocent individuals who did, being in the
wrong place at the wrong time. However, I have had to live through the psychological
trauma which I have still not overcome. One day, I hope that peace will come.

Four long years have passed and I reflect now and then on how my life is progressing. I
used to take things for granted because I assumed that there would be many more life
moments, however, I have seen first hand on how fragile life can be.
One moment you are getting your lunch with your colleagues, and the next moment, the
unthinkable occurs and the lives of so many people are forever changed.

A part of me has departed with the victims, caused by empathy one should feel for
others. Sometimes I think of one of the people who I tried to save. One particular victim
left behind a young son, in the wake of her death.
I administered her CPR and told the woman to stay with me as I could see her life
slipping away.
When her son becomes older, I would be open to speaking with him about his mother
who tried with all her might to live. Her memory should live on as a legacy.

I hope that one day, I attain somewhat closure and solace due to this horrific ordeal.
However, at the moment, I cannot make sense of it, as I know that this terrible
nightmare is in fact a sad reality for myself and to many others.

May we all find an eventual catharsis and band and grow together in the wake of this
tragedy and become #TorontoStrong.
“The truth that I have been seeking — This truth is Death. Yet Death is also a seeker.
Forever seeking me. So — We have met at last. And I am prepared. I am at peace.” -
Bruce Lee

By Tanya Kouzos (nee Kolenko)

My name is Sharlene Mackay and I am a witness and civilian first responder to the Toronto Van Attack that took
place on April 23, 2018, particularly the portion of events that took place in and around Mel Lastman Square. It is a
day that has profoundly affected my life, both personally and also my relationships with people around me.

Since witnessing this event, I often feel sad and depressed. I will just start tearing up or even crying, Other times I
become angry inside and I will have a hard time being empathetic to other’s problems or concerns as they seem to
not matter when everything could be taken away in a flash. I suffer from survivor’s guilt, wondering why I am still
alive when I easily could be dead instead of a mother with a young child.

I had to walk past the crime scene at least twice a day on my way to work. I take public transit and there was only
one way to get there. I tried getting off a different stop but that was still part of the stretch of road affected and just
made me wonder if it looked as terrible as what happened at the square. I could not walk on the west side of Yonge
Street at all, I became full of dread and a pit would develop on my stomach. I would become very anxious. It was so
bad that I started looking for a new job. Sadly I was new to my career and it took me a year to find a new job. I
started it on April 22, 2019 and I cannot tell you how happy I was to not have to walk there anymore. On my last
day there were already memorials being set up and I cried the whole way home.

I still suffer from panic attacks. Common triggers include white vans, the name Ryder, sudden noises, the colour of
the jacket worn by one of the victims, and too many people. It can be one thing or any combination of things that
trigger an attack. I tend to walk close to buildings or on the inside of a sidewalk or walkway, unless I am with other
people in which case I walk on the outside because I don’t want anyone else to get hurt or be killed. Because noise
can trigger me I find that I need to wear headphones/earbuds and play music when out in public alone. I also have
night terrors. Sometimes it is just a replay of what actually happened but other times it is me being chased by a white
van that will stop and then start chasing me again. Other times it is images of the victims asking me to help them.

There are times that I will not be able to focus or concentrate. My mind will just wander and I will become
consumed with thoughts related to the event. These wanderings can be just a few minutes in length or a few hours.
Sometimes they are caused by one of my triggers happening or having occurred recently, sometimes it is by
someone talking about the event or a news article. I do not always read the articles and I find that I do not watch
televised news programs very often anymore.

I am afraid to watch new television shows or movies that I think might have a scene with someone being hit by a
vehicle. Unfortunately I have not always been successful with this and have had panic attacks in a movie theatre or
at home sometimes with other people from my social circle or family present and of course strangers. I find that I
have to explain what might happen to anyone that I might spend time with, new friends, coworkers, family I haven’t
seen in a while, etc.. It makes me feel victimized again.

Because of this continued pain, I will sometimes try to blot it out by drinking too much so I can sleep without night
terrors. I often don’t eat properly be it too little or too much. I try to hide these behaviours and feelings from those
around me as I don’t want them to be upset and I don’t want them to treat me differently. I don’t want them to stop
including me in outings or conversations because they think I can’t handle it. I find that I am more protective of my
people now. I worry excessively that they are hurt or dead if they are late or haven’t called or messaged in what I
perceive to be a timely manner.

I know these are things that I will have to deal with in varying degrees for the rest of my life. Sometimes it is a little
easier but then it will come back as strong as the first months after the event. I know that there are many others like
me who are suffering and will continue to suffer. Knowing that the accused is getting to walk around and plan happy
things for his life would make this worse for me. I don’t feel like he should get to have a “normal” life since he took
away mine and so many others. I feel that the accused should be in custody for the remainder of his life as I will
forever be in custody of his crime. For that reason, I do want to be notified when the accused has a parole hearing so
I can make my concerns heard.
May 15 2021

The Honourable Anne M. Molloy

Re: Victim Impact Statement , R. v. Alek Minassian

I am the nephew of Betty Forsyth, who lost her life due to Alek Minassian's
actions.

At the time of her death, Betty was 94 years old and still active and healthy. She
lived in the Yonge / Finch community and had many friends in the area. She was
a lover of animals, and was a good friend to the birds and squirrels in her
neighborhood.

As the senior member of our family, Betty was a walking library of information,
and we loved it when she shared stories of our family’s history. Her presence
and many untold stories are now lost forever. Betty would have been 99 this
year.

On paper I find it very difficult to express the impact Minassians’ actions have
had on us. I couldn’t write enough pages to convey the shock, anger, grief,
sadness and fear we experienced as a result of this murder. Shock and anger; in
learning that Alek Minaissan murdered my aunt. Grief and sadness; from
knowing our time with her and her precious remaining years were cut short.
Fear; in knowing that people like Minassian exist in our society.

The emotional toll on my family has affected our lives in many ways including
disrupting my son’s education as well as my own career. Mr Minassian created
many challenges that my family continues to deal with four years later.

Thank you for the opportunity to share this impact statement.

Sincerely

Robert Forsyth
Good day,

My name is Haneen Najjar and I lost my father, Munir, on the 23rd of April 2018.

I immigrated to Canada with my family in August 2017 leaving my parents all by themselves back in
Jordan. My biggest concern was what if something happens to them while both my brother and I are so
far away here in Canada. Little did I know that this fear will materialize here in Toronto, thousands of
miles away from their home and in such a horrific and devastating way.

Although my father was 85 years old, but deep within was a hidden child who was always curious to
learn new things, he saw beauty in everything around him and he appreciated all the little things that
most people take for granted. He had an abundance of love to give, making everyone he meets feel very
special. I was so excited that my parents were coming to visit us having such high hopes for creating
beautiful memories, but unfortunately, because of the actions of one man who says he’s happy that he
did what he did and feels that he accomplished his mission, our lives and the lives of all the families and
victims were shattered in a way that I doubt will ever seem normal again, leaving us with a pain so
substantial, a constant reminder of our tremendous loss.

It took me several months to bring myself to walk on that part of Yonge Street again where my father
was struck, picturing how he was hit and thrown only to land on the street a dead body. Four months
after the horrific incident, I suffered a severe debilitating panic attack, literally unable to breathe or
move when I thought I lost my son in Montreal, my subconscious mind took me instantly to that day
when my dad went out for a walk and didn’t come home, and I felt the same pain, fear and helplessness
believing my son was facing the same outcome, thankfully he was fine and in no danger, but the trauma
was so huge and devastating that I couldn’t think logically, and that is when I realized that I was not well
and I knew that I had to seek therapy. What right has this man to destroy the lives of so many people
just to gain the infamy he seeks!!

I miss my father so much, I miss that daily messenger call where he would always be cheerful urging me
to go out there and explore this new country I moved to, always reassuring me that he and mum are
doing well and not to worry about them, my father had to endure many hardships in life, but he always
had a positive and optimistic overview about the world accepting whatever fate threw at him and he
always went by the motto “que sera sera”, a trait I wish I had inherited from him! I have three boys and
the three of them were extremely traumatized by the loss of their grandfather, my youngest son who
was 15 years old at the time of the incident, had a tattoo of my father’s name engraved on his arm,
maybe this is his way of dealing with his loss trying to keep his grandfather close to heart. In fact he was
the first one in our family who knew for sure that my dad was killed that day, he was the one who
recognized a lone shoe in the street staring him in the face confirming his and our worst fears. Can
anyone imagine the impact of such a disaster on a child?! At a time where we were planning things to
do and explore in Toronto, we ended up planning for a funeral thousands of miles away.
Another victim of this horrendous crime is my mother, a woman in her eighties who found comfort in
living a quiet life with her partner of more than 50 years in their home in Amman, only to discover that
she needs to adapt to a new life, a life where she will be alone, having to do all the things that my father
used to take care of herself, not having her husband to talk to in the long hours of the day, I am sure she
felt petrified picturing how her life was going to be without him by her side, but my mother is resilient
too, or maybe that is what mothers do, pretending to be strong in front of their children even if they are
not children anymore, only to be facing her fears each and every day.

At the end, the sad reality is that many innocent lives were lost and several people were injured, but the
scars will remain forever. My father so loved Canada and kept saying that we are lucky to live in such a
beautiful country, he loved Canada to the point that the last breath he took was on that part of Yonge
Street on one sunny April day.

Thank you.
 Victim Impact Statement
Robert J Anderson
February 28, 2021
During the early afternoon of April 23rd 2018, I was walking southbound
on the westside of Young street just south of Finch avenue. I had just
recently retired in the past year and I was starting to enjoy my
Retirement.
At around 1:30 pm the Ryder Van driven by Alex Minassian hit me from
behind near Kemper and Young and left the scene leaving me with life
threatening injuries. I only remember waking up in the ICU at
Sunnybrook with my older brother Ian and ICU staff looking down at
me. I did not know what had happened, or what the time of day it was,
or even what day it was. I was just lying there highly sedated with a
chest tube draining a reddish fluid from by left side of my ribcage and
the string of surgical staples closing my abdomen right up to my chest.
My left side ribcage had multiple fractures called a flail chest, my left
lung had collapsed and had to be repaired, my spleen had been
lacerated and had to be removed, my liver had been lacerated and had
to be repaired. I had bleeding around the left Kidney and Adrenal gland.
In addition, I had a Traumatic Brain injury with a Scattered
subarachnoid and a left greater than right intraventricular hemorrhage.
My first blood pressure was only 70 over 50. After my blood pressure
had been stabilized and my head injuries had been examined through
consultation with Neurosurgery, I was taken to the Operating Room for
urgent trauma abdominal surgery. Fortunately for me my Brain
hemorrhages showed mild improvement and Neurosurgery signed off
and I did not require Neurosurgery.
The next four weeks in Hospital at both Sunnybrook and St John’s rehab
were sometimes confusing and painful, particularly during the early
days in the ICU. While at Sunnybrook I had to remain on the Surgical
anesthesia for an extended period of time to manage pain and I was
treated for Ventilator associated pneumonia. Although these where
very troubling times, I am very great full to the outstanding medical
staff at Sunnybrook and St John’s, various victim supports, Toronto
Police Victim Services and to my family for helping me through this.
It has been almost three years since the attack and I have tried to get
back to normal as much as possible. Because of the Spleen removal my
immune system is compromised and I must keep a prescription of anti-
biotics on hand at all times and must keep up to date with numerous
vaccines. I carry on with my normal daily activities but no longer do my
cycling due to dizziness. My short-term memory continues to suffer
from the head injuries.

Robert Anderson
From: Mavis Justino

To Whom it May Concern.

Since the incident on April 23, 2018, my life has changed in

many ways. The strong, independent, confident woman I was
before has been replaced with a woman who has constant pain,
depression, sleepless nights and is an emotional mess. I was a
very happy and social person who did everything with intensity,
and nothing could have kept me from my dreams and goals.
Before the incident my days consisted of cycling classes during
my lunch hour at work, kickboxing after work, and if there was
enough time, a workout at the end of the day. Today my days
consist of waking up after a sleepless night from pain, starting
with stretches to get my body started for the day and pray that I
have a good day.
I was property manager at the time of the incident, I worked
three jobs and went to school while being a single mother to my
3 daughters to reach the manager position. Now I still suffer
from memory loss, have difficulty making decisions, have
regular headaches, complete loss of concentration, back pain,
knee paid and am unable to sit or stand for long periods of time.
I was very outgoing and never suffered from my back, knee or
any other issues before the incident and now I am unable to
return to weight training, kickboxing or cycling and I am unable
to take my grandchildren to the park for long periods of time. I
miss out on outings and fun stuff with my family because of my
injuries. I am also unable to return to work mentally or
physically making me unable to support myself and my family.
The last four years of my life have been such a struggle
physically, emotionally and financially. The constant thoughts
and visions of that day have made it so difficult.
“I came from a life I loved to a life I live to live”

Sincerely,

Mavis Justino
 Victim Impact Statement
2020/1/7
JunSeok Park
Alex Minasian who attacked me ruined and crushed my life.
April 23rd in 2020, I was walking on Yonge street with my ex-girlfriend Hyeon Jeong
Moon and a stranger named Alex suddenly attacked us with a Van to kill us without any
reason. I could not remember that day until I woke up 4~5 weeks later from a COMA
due to brain injury at Sunnybrook hospital and doctors said my brain was shut down to
protect from trauma. Until now, I cannot remember the day at all.
However, after I woke up, I felt pain due to brain injury. Dizziness, high blood pressure,
vomiting, lack of strength to walk due to such a long time in a COMA. I had to stay in
Sunnybrook hospital for 2 weeks then was transferred to the Bridgepoint Rehab hospital
for rehabilitation. During that time, I felt pain whenever I laid down to bed due to
dizziness and could not hear that much using right ear due to brain injury and damage
to my vestibular system.
After being discharged from the Rehab hospital, I had to get therapies to heal my
physical condition and mental condition. I had to attend Occupational Therapy, Speech
Therapy, Counselling, Psychological Therapy, Brain condition check with doctors at
Sunnybrook hospital, and Physiotherapy for damaged vestibular system. I cannot hear
well anymore with my right ear due to the permanent damage. I have to worry about
having a seizure and stroke every day until I die due to this brain injury by this van
attack. I still take my medication every day for my brain injury to prevent seizures and
stroke. I get horrible nightmares every day and can’t get long comfortable sleep at all
after brain injury due to this attack.
I now have a fear of driving myself due to this Van attack because car accidents come
to my nightmares frequently and I am easily tired with dizziness and headaches due to
brain injury. Also, my vision is much lower than before this Van attack happened to me
because I now have an Astigmatism. It has affected my job searching and impacted my
future plans to live because I was to graduate from Centennial College’s Environmental
Program as a Water Control Technician, but this requires a driver’s license.
Due to lack of comfortable sleep, I have no confidence being able to drive and work
safely due to lack of strength during whole day. Also, I am now easily tired after doing
simple housework and must get sleep to prevent falling down on the floor. My life
pattern is ruined and am only up during afternoon or evening time mostly. Now my
concentration is much weaker and shorter due to lack of strength and astigmatism. I
also can feel back pain and neck pain after Van attack and couldn’t get any therapy
about that because I had no idea that I could get some support from insurance company
before about those injuries. I also can’t walk or run long distances due to my weak body
condition.
 It was horrible because my relationship with my ex-girlfriend was broken due to her
memory loss. We had about 4 years of relationship broken suddenly due to Van attack.
Also, my family had a hard time because they had to stay in Toronto, spending their own
money, for 19 months to take care of me. That caused many problems in my
relationship with my family because they were poor, and I couldn’t work until now to
recover my health condition. Now, finally they broke relationship with me and don’t have
contact with me anymore because they think I am the thing that ruined their life
financially. This would not have happened if the Van attack had never happened in my
life. Now I am living with limited money from Toronto Strong Fund and I have to worry
every day for my future. My insurance coverage and support is done and I can’t keep up
with my therapies because I do not have enough money to pay for it. Now I have to live
with no therapy.
Alex Minasian has ruined my past, present, and future.
My name is Ra So and I am a victim of Toronto Van Attack.

The weather was just too nice to take TTC on April 23 rd, 2018. Sohe (my best friend who passed away
due to the attack) and I were heading to the library and we decided to walk instead of taking the
subway because we wanted to enjoy the sunshine. My last memory is waiting for the traffic light to
turn green at the Yonge and Finch intersection. I was peacefully walking with Sohe side to side and we
were laughing together, but then I woke up from the ground, gasping for air, and it took me some time
to realize that our peaceful walk was actually a dream that I just had when I passed out. I looked around
trying to process the situation and saw people lying on the ground here and there with no
consciousness and there was a lot of blood. Soon, I felt unbearable pain all over my body and found
out that I was also covered in blood. As soon as I realized there is something wrong, I looked around
to check up on Sohe. I found her on the ground a few meters away from me. She was unconscious but
I did not see any visible injuries, so I assumed she was fine and felt relieved.

The next thing I remember is being transferred to Sunnybrook hospital, where I found out about my
injuries. I got a stitch on the scalp as soon as I arrived at the ER and I was feeling a severe pain
throughout my whole body while I was in ICU and but I could not move nor change my posture
because of my fractures. When I finally met the doctors, they told me I had a minor concussion, collar
bone fracture, rib fractures, and major facial bone fractures. The most severe fractures happened on my
face and basically all of my facial bones were broken into pieces except my forehead. My jaw fracture
was so bad that my teeth and gum line were misaligned and I could not open one of my eyes due to
the swelling caused by an orbital fracture. Even though my face looked like it needs an immediate
reconstructive surgery, I had to wait for 10 days because my face was too swollen to get any operations
done.

The first few days were just a nightmare. I had incessant diarrhea, vomiting, nose bleeding and I had a
hard time sleeping, more specifically ‘falling asleep’ because I had a panic attack every time when I was
about to fall asleep. When my eyes started to feel heavy and breathing started to slow down, I got this
sudden fear of dying because it felt like I would stop breathing if I fall asleep. This led to hypersensitivity,
itchiness, and hyperventilation and the only way to stop it was either passing out or getting a sedative.

While I was going through all this pains, I never stopped wondering about what happened to Sohe.
Even on the day of the attack, I kept asking the paramedic about her and gave her information to
figure out if she was okay and which hospital she was getting sent to. I kept asking the nurses in EU,
even after being moved to ICU, I did not stop asking about her. When my friends finally found me at
the hospital and when my parents arrived from Korea, I asked them to look for Sohe and tell me what
happened. At the time, I had absolutely no doubt about her being alive but it was so hard to understand
what it taking so long to get any news about her. I asked multiple times about her every day and every
time, the answer was “there are too many victims, so the hospitals and polices are too busy going over
the overwhelming amount of information of all the victims, but we’ll tell you as soon as we hear
something.”

So, I waited. I waited for days and days and I started to feel anxious. I was so sure and believed that
Sohe is still alive but it just did not make sense that I did not hear anything about her after the attack
and I started to think “what if she is injured very badly? What if she is in a coma? What if she died?”
but I immediately erased those thoughts and thought how dare I even imagine that terrible situations.
I tried my best to not lose hope and avoid bad thoughts and kept waiting to hear about Sohe. Then
about a week after, one of the social workers told me that there is important news to tell me, so I
followed her into a meeting room with my parents and my friends. I thought it was going to be
something about my upcoming operation or examination result before going into the room but as
soon as the social worker sat on the chair and said “Sora, I have something very important to tell you,”
I knew it was about Sohe and something bad. I remember crying and screaming out my denial after
hearing of her death, then I asked my friends and mom when it was exactly. I found out that Sohe
passed away at the scene and my parents and friends did not know how to or when to deliver the
news to me because I was too severely injured and they were not sure if I would be able to handle it
on top of all the struggles I was going through at the time.

Hearing about Sohe’s death was the most painful and terrible experience I have ever had because she
was such a meaningful person in my life. I met Sohe on the campus tour day when I entered the
University of Toronto in 2013 and we became so close so fast because we had the same major and
similar personalities. Then we became roommates in 2015 and continued living together year after year.
Living with her and her dog ‘Coco’ was dreamlike and we were so happy as a family. I know that the
word ‘soulmate’ is often used to describe a lover or a romantic relationship but I could not find any
more perfect word other than soulmates to describe my relationship with Sohe. We connected on the
‘soul’ level and that is how well we got along. She was the most amazing, funniest, mature and wisest
person I have ever met in my life. I admired and loved her so much. When I told her about my concerns,
she always came up with the wisest advice for me. Every time I asked her about something, she always
had an answer for it and she seemed like a human dictionary to me. She was more than just a best
friend, she was sometimes a sister, sometimes a mother, sometimes a teacher. I was so grateful that I
have met her and to have her as my best friend and our relationship was so precious. I can truly say
out of my heart that she was so important to me to the point where I cared more about her than
myself. So, when I heard about her death, my whole world crashed down on me and I could finally
understand why people use the word ‘heartbreak’ because my heart literally felt like it was being
shredded into pieces and I could not stop hitting my chest to get rid of that pain in my heart.

After a few days, my friend told me that there will be a funeral for Sohe in a few days and her family
said I could give a speech at the funeral if I can. I was thankful and wanted to get right into it, but my
concussion symptoms interrupted me. I could not look at any letters, even from far away, because they
made me feel dizzy and want to vomit, so I had to get help from my friends. I told them what I want
to write, then they wrote them down for me. When the speech was ready, I had to read it in order to
practice but I was still feeling dizzy every time I looked at the letters, but I could not give up. I
suppressed the urge to throw up and put the speech right in front of my eyes, like only 2cm apart from
my face, and practiced harder than ever. After practicing for hours, I overcame my concussion with a
strong will of reading the speech for Sohe at her funeral.

When I was discharged from the hospital, I still could not walk or eat properly. I had to sit on a
wheelchair for months and had to use a blender to grind food and use a syringe to insert it into my
mouth because I could not open my mouth. I fainted often due to malnutrition, and I lost weight, so I
was down to 39kg from 45kg. It was painful and hard to overcome but it was nothing compared to the
sadness I had to go through about Sohe’s death. I went to numerous counselling sessions to get help,
but it was so hard to get out of the guilt and depression. I remember thinking “Why couldn’t we survive
together? Why did I survive alone?” and felt so guilty for being alive. When I went back to school, my
depression got worse. Simple things like going to the lectures was torture to me because all the lectures
I enrolled in were the ones Sohe and I planned to take together. The lecture halls, the sidewalks, the
library, anything I did and anywhere I went reminded me of Sohe and I could not take it. No matter
what I did, there was no way of bringing her back to life and I just could not handle it. I felt empty
inside as if I had a huge hole in my heart which could not be filled, and I could not stop thinking “what
is the point of life?”

After 2 years of working hard on my guilty feelings and depression, I was finally able to start something
enjoyable and it was starting a YouTube channel which was my dream since high school. I wanted to
be a beauty YouTuber and started filming myself but then that is when the consequence of the
reconstructive operation took place. When I was recovering from the surgery, my mom found out that
my right eye, where the orbital bone was fractured, was more sunken than the left. I went to see the
doctor at Sunnybrook, and we concluded that it is true that my left eye was sunken. This made my
right eye look smaller and slightly different from the left eye. Also, my lower lashes on the right eye
started to poke my eye because the eyelid also got turned inward when the eyeball sunk. I wanted to
have another operation to fix it but then the doctor advised that it would not be a simple operation
and in worst case scenario, I could go blind. I was scared and it felt so unfair for me to go through this
struggle because I would have had no problems with my eyes if the attack never happened.

It has been 4 years now, and I still have not taken the operation to fix my eye, not because I overcame
the look of it, because I did not want to take another risk or go through another tough recovery. I have
to take pictures and videos of myself for my YouTube channel and I have to face my eye problem daily
and it is an infinite loop of me trying to overcome it but fail and fall into depression and repeat. The
same thing happens when I think about Sohe. I would try my best to admit and accept her death but
I still feel miserable for losing such a precious person in my life and the fact that I have to live with this
pain, a hole in my heart that can never be filled, throughout my whole life makes it hard to breathe.

This tragedy was and still is the most painful thing that ever happened in my life and writing about
this reminds me of the hurtful feelings back then and it really breaks my heart again. Nevertheless, I
had to write this statement because I wanted to let the world know how this criminal has impacted the
victims’ lives and that some of those painful experiences are permanent. I hope this statement provides
some help on sentencing this criminal to prison appropriately.
Victim Impact Statement for Catherine Riddell – June 2022

I have had to deal with many challenges in my life, but I’m

tough and I’ve learned to cope with them. However, I was ill
prepared to deal with the physical and emotional trauma of
what you put me through. In an instant my life changed
forever. To this day I struggle to understand what you did and
that you thought it was OK. A total stranger out for a walk on a
beautiful day…how dare you. Who gave you the right to
randomly take lives or seriously injure others just because your
life wasn’t working out for you the way you wanted. And now
you beg for mercy from the court because you were unhappy
with your situation. You don’t deserve mercy…you deserve to
spend the rest of your life behind bars. You don’t deserve a
second chance.

Many people, including myself, have had to overcome serious

obstacles in their lives, but we don’t take it out on others. We
figure out how to cope on our own or we ask for help…we don’t
resort to mass murder as a solution.

In my youth I enjoyed a life of sports and physical activity and

as I grew older I paid my dues for those choices with a number
of knee surgeries. As a matter of fact I had just recovered from
back to back knee replacements and had just undergone a
physical assessment with a personal trainer and was well on my
way to a full and happy future.
On April 23 2018 you arbitrarily decided that I and 25 others no
longer had the right to live. In my wildest imagination I cannot
understand why you did what you did even though I have spent
a great deal of time trying to figure it out. It is beyond reason
and the fact that you were so proud of what you accomplished
chills me to the bone. I pray there are very few of you in this
world who think as you do.

Because of your reckless behaviour I spent 2 months in hospital

while my family and friends felt helpless and angry at my
bedside. I have also undergone several surgeries and struggled
through 2 years of outpatient rehab. This has been the most
traumatic challenge I have ever had to face and it has taken a
great deal of effort on my part and a great deal of support on
the past of others to work through, but I am finally starting to
see my way clear to a better future.

I consider myself very fortunate that I will probably make at

least a reasonable recovery, even as some survivors are robbed
of that opportunity. Despite my progress there are some
emotional scars that will never leave me. I think about the 11
people who are no longer with us. It haunts me that these
people (many of them very young) will never have a chance to
realize the potential of their lives, and the older folks who will
never have the chance to enjoy life to its natural end. Have you
ever given a thought to all these people? Do you feel even a
little bit guilty for what you did? I will live with these feelings
forever…will you? Does it haunt you the way it haunts me?
My real anger though is what your actions did to my family and
friends, first responders, hospital staff and the people of
Toronto who were all subjected to one of the most horrendous
and vicious attacks ever witnessed in this city.

After hearing your statement to the police, I truly believe you

knew exactly what you were doing and intentionally took
satisfaction in executing your murderous plan. I pray that the
Court will send you to jail for the rest of your life. In my opinion
you have lost the right to ever be free again. Maybe some day
you will come to terms with what you have done. Otherwise
you can live in your own self made hell forever.