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Quest Means Business
Alphabet Earnings Beat Wall Street Expectations; Driver in Custody After Van Hits Pedestrians; Waffle House Shooting Suspect in Custody; Macron Expected at White House Soon; Paris Attack Suspect Salah Abdeslam Jailed for 20 Years; Duchess of Cambridge Gives Birth to New Prince; Toronto Mayor Calls for Calm After Van Hits Pedestrians; Nine Dead, Sixteen Injured in Toronto Van Collision. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired April 23, 2018 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: And good evening to you. CNN is following breaking news in Canada. A van has been driven into several
pedestrians in Toronto. It happened in the area of Yong Street and Finch Avenue.
Paramedics tell CNN they are on the scene and treating a number of people there. Toronto police say that the van has been found and they have
arrested the person believed to be the driver. CNN spoke to a witness who said he couldn`t believe what he was seeing.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was coming down on Yong and Finch and all I saw was after right here, from the Shopper`s Drug mart, I`d seen a white van with a
red coloring on it and all I saw was that he smashed into someone over there and then...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it`s okay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and so he smashed into someone over there...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay, start again...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... then I`d seen him go ahead. I thought he had a heart attack or something so I was trying to chase him down on the way almost
trying to catch up and see what happened. All I`d seen was this guy, this Krum - I mean, he was going 70 to 80 clicks. He`s just hitting people one
by one going down.
Oh, man, it was like a nightmare, man. I was at - I got to Yong and Empress and I`d seen a lady with her leg and oh man, it was - it`s really bad out
there. I couldn`t believe what I`d seen, man. It was like, oh, god, man. Everybody, all of these people on the streets getting hit one by one. Post
office box getting crumbled up on people and one person got dragged on and their blood is all over Yong and Empress, it`s really bad out there, man. I
am so shaky. I am still dying from this. I can`t believe this is happening. This is like unbelievable.
(VIDEO CLIP ENDS)
GOLODRYGA: Quite an emotionally shaken witness. Obviously, so many people there shaken following the events that just unfolded. Paula Newton is in
our London bureau. She can tell us more about Toronto. It`s a city she knows very well.
Paula, a beautiful day, a lot of pedestrians walking around in the afternoon and then tragedy like this unfolds.
PAULA NEWTON, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Yes, a beautiful sunny day, a spring day on what had been a brutal winter. You can imagine more people out on the
streets, but what I want to point out, Bianna, is that this area of Yong Street, as you can see from some of the video we are showing you, in terms
of how quickly speeding, the van was going - everyone seemed to notice, I spoke to one eyewitness who said, you could see this white van immediately
speeding and driving erratically and this seemed to be somebody with absolutely out of control in this van.
They are wide streets. They are wide boulevards. He apparently had been hitting people in the street and on the sidewalk, and again, this is not a
place like a downtown New York or a downtown London where you would have people thronging the sidewalks. You would have to almost hit them
deliberately as you were trying to go down those pedestrian walk ways, and one reason why as you just heard from that gentleman, he was just so
shaken.
People really describing that people had been knocked off their feet, describing pools of blood, and what was also so disarming is to hear people
trying to get a hold of what was happening, stopping traffic from people that were hit and lying in the street and trying to make sure that other
cars did not run them over.
We have also had some very dramatic footage of Toronto police apprehending the suspect by that white van. Again, to recall, it is a Ryder van which
means, it is indeed a Ryder Truck rental and really dramatic footage of Toronto police basically saying, "Go down. Go down. Go down." And he
finally doing as he was told and as you can seem from the still picture there, was on the sidewalk and then he went into police custody.
We have a trauma center nearby at Sunnybrook that says it now has seven patients. It is a state of the art trauma center and they will do all they
can with some of the horrific injuries, Bianna, that have already been described by eyewitnesses there on the - at the scene.
GOLODRYGA: They are fortunate to have that trauma center so nearby. We would assume to be getting more details within the next few hours since the
police were able to apprehend the driver and hopefully have him answer a lot of questions right now. But can you talk to us about the areas
specifically. I am told it is right outside of the Toronto downtown. That`s an area I know quite well. Not, very familiar where this accident actually
took place though.
NEWTON: Yes, this is still a commercial district, a very vibrant one. You know, a lot of businesses there. There would have been people going out for
a late lunch trying to grab a coffee or grab a sandwich. Again, it is still a commercial area, but not throngs like you would be in downtown Toronto.
And I think, in terms of what that eyewitness described, that van was going quite quickly and really hit many, many people as he was proceeding along
that way. I will say this is an area that has had its challenges with crime in Toronto. Toronto Police know it well, which is why, Bianna, Canadian
authorities tell me that they, for right now, believe that the lead here in the investigation will remain Toronto Police. That may change if they
determine this was a deliberate act and if they believe terrorism was involved here.
But right...
[16:05:16]
NEWTON: ... we are still awaiting a press conference update both from Toronto Police and from the Public Security Minister in Canada, Ralph
Goodale. I am told from authorities that we should have that press conference soon and they will learn more, but again, Bianna, you are really
looking - if it is indeed terrorism, this would be a watershed moment for Canada, one of the worst acts of terrorism on Canadian soil, if indeed it
is that.
At this point, we don`t even know if this was deliberate. But from what people saw, from what eyewitnesses described, this was really seen as if
this person was driving completely - anywhere that he wanted to and that people were just absolutely shocked and thrown off their feet. Again,
horrific injuries being described there by eyewitness.
GOLODRYGA: And traumatizing, given what the images we`re seeing right now on the screen. We have seen this play out in France. We have seen it play
out in London as well, and in Barcelona. Talk about the city as a whole. Obviously, such a large metropolitan city. How will this affect the
surrounding city? Obviously, since investigators are going to be homing in on investigating this area in particular?
NEWTON: Well, Toronto Police have been quite vigilant. We have certainly had terror plots later uncovered in Toronto, but not an incident like this
at all. They would be looking to see what can be done in terms of seeing a lot of the things that we see in London and New York and you`re talking
about concrete barricades. They will look to that.
What police really though want is intelligence and what authorities are telling us for several months now...
GOLODRYGA: And Paula, I am going to interrupt you just because the Canadian Minister of Public Safety is speaking. Let`s listen to what he has to say.
(VIDEO CLIP STARTS)
RALPH GOODALE, MINISTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, CANADA: ... announced, they will be by the appropriate police authorities.
At the moment, however, the investigation is at a stage where no further detailed information can be confirmed at this point.
I want to say that I have also been in touch this afternoon with my Ontario Counterpart, Minister Marie-France Lalonde. As well, my office has been in
very close touch through the afternoon with Mary Tories (ph) office and I will be speaking with the mayor a little bit later on this afternoon.
There are obviously casualties in this incident. I cannot provide details at this stage, but I do want to extend thoughts and prayers to those who
have suffered as a result of what has happened. I also want to express great admiration for the police and the other first responders who have
been involved as is always the case in these very difficult and tragic circumstances, first responders, police, paramedics, firefighters who are
often the first on the scene, their behavior and their work is simply extraordinary and we are very grateful to have them.
Chrystia, you are a member of parliament for Toronto, maybe you would like to add a word at this stage?
CHRYSTIA FREELAND, PARLIAMENT MEMBER, TORONTO: Yes, well, thank you, Ralph. As Ralph said, he and I are here for the G7 Security and Foreign Ministers
Meeting.
For a moment though, I would like to speak to you as a member of Parliament for University of Rosedale and member of the Toronto Caucus and really just
to say how tragic this is and that I think all of our hearts go out to the people first in this incident and to their families and loved ones.
And as Ralph said, we should really thank the police and the first responders for the courageous work they had done and are doing, so thank
you very much. It`s a very sad moment, and you know, I am just very grateful to people who are working hard on this.
GOODALE: The Toronto Police Service is the lead investigative agency in this matter and I understand, as soon as they are able to comment further
with information or details, that they will be making the appropriate officers available, but until they are able to do that, it is not possible
at this stage for us to speculate on the situation.
[16:10:16]
GOODALE: I know that probably, it does not provide much of a base upon which you may ask questions, but if there are any questions pertaining to
this situation that we can deal with at this stage, perhaps, we should do that before moving into the G7 issues generally.
MURRAY BREWSTER, REPORTER, CBC NEWS: Hello, Minister Goodale. Minister Goodale, I am Murray Brewster from CBC News. What happened in North Toronto
today looks a lot like some of the terror incidents that took place in Europe and I recognize in respect what you are saying about having to wait,
but what kind of conclusion can the paying public draw when it sees this. Is this terrorism and what sort of message do you think it sends to be
having this kind of incident at the same time as your meeting with your counterparts here for the G7?
GOODALE: Murray, we cannot come to any firm conclusions at this stage. The police are conducting obviously their thorough investigation to determine
exactly what happened and why it happened, the motivations involved, but until they are able to provide us with details, that put this completely in
a factual context, it would be inappropriate to speculate.
I can though say that there is complete cooperation and collaboration among all of the relevant police organizations to make sure that all the
appropriate resources are made available and that we get the answers that you and the public would want just as rapidly as possible.
MICHELLE ZILIO, REPORTER, GLOBE AND MAIL: Thank you for taking the time to answer questions today. Minister Goodale, just following up on my
colleague`s comment, I am Michelle Zilio here with the Globe and Mail. Can you tell us about the risk to the public right now? Do you have any
concerns about that?
GOODALE: There is no information available to me at the present time that would indicate a change in the risk level. The appropriate authorities of
the government of Canada in collaboration with all of their relevant law enforcement partners are constantly assessing and reassessing the nature of
risk in the country from whatever source it may come.
If they conclude that a change is appropriate, that decision is made by the key senior officials within the government of Canada. But there is no
information and I think it`s important to state this. There is no information available to me at the present time that would lead us to
conclude that there should be a change in risk level.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Through a translator). Madame Freeland, I would like if I may to put my question to you in French. Earlier on, you commented on
what has occurred, so perhaps you could respond in French for us if that is possible.
FREELAND: As a member for Toronto, and as a colleague of Minister Ralph Goodale, I want to say that it has been a tragic incident and I know that
everybody`s heart go out to the victims and to their loved ones, and I should like to pay tribute to all of the public services, all of the first
responders to this incident, those who have gone to the aid of victims and those who are trying to track down the perpetrators.
We can`t say an awful lot right now because investigations are only just beginning, and it`s important to leave the police to carry out their
investigations and as the Toronto Police Service is responsible, the Federal government of course will work very closely indeed with the City of
Toronto and the Toronto Police Service.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much, David Clarke (ph) from (inaudible). Obviously, you can`t say very much about today`s...
[16:15:16]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... incident yet, but this meeting has been on the agenda for quite a while. Did you receive any information, any threats from
the intelligence that there was any reason to consider that this meeting itself might be the target of anything? Thank you very much.
GOODALE: No, not to my knowledge. None at all.
KATIE SIMPSON, REPORTER, CBC NEWS: Katie Simpson, CBC News. Minister Goodale, I know that you are in a position where there is a limited amount
of information you can share, but we haven`t heard from Toronto Police just yet in terms of the scope of just how tragic this incident is. Do you have
any information about how many people may have been hurt? How many people may have been killed? Any information like that that you can share the
specifics?
GOODALE: Katie, at this stage. No. If I were to use a number, it would be a speculative number and I would rather not speculate on a situation that
serious and tragic. As soon as the relevant information is available, I am sure the Toronto Police Service will be making it available. They
understand the importance of providing information to the public as quickly as it is possible to do that and I think at this stage, those of us at the
political level should avoid speculation. But they will be making themselves available later today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you everyone. Merci. We will now move to the remarks from Ministers Goodale and Freeland on their work today at the G7.
(Foreign language.)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And you have been watching a press conference at the G7 meeting in Toronto. This had been previously scheduled. We heard from the Canadian
Minister of Public Safety, Ralph Goodale and also the Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland reacting to the news of the tragic incident there where a
vehicle had plowed into a crowd of people on a street.
So many unknowns at this point. We do know however that there are casualties that had been taken to a nearby hospital. I want to go back to
our Paula Newton, and Paula as you had heard from this press, there are obviously not many details that the Ministers could provide. They did say
however that this would be under the jurisdiction of the Toronto Police Service and my question to you is and we are expected to hear from them
momentarily in about 10 minutes.
My question to you is, in these types of situations, in particular, if this does end up being an act of terror, at some point, do Federal investigators
step in to work with the Toronto Police Department like they do here in the US?
NEWTON: Absolutely. It would be the RCMP, they obviously have terrorism units that operate and will have all the intelligence brought to bear on
that, and by the way, that includes intelligence from all over the world, especially the United States.
I will say that Canada`s threat level remains at medium. It was elevated after two terrorism attacks in 2014, just to remind everyone that a man,
very dramatically attacked the Canadian Parliament in 2014 an a Canadian soldier was killed in Ottawa. But just a few days before that, a vehicle
was used to kill yet another soldier in a completely separate incident.
And I will add that Canada`s threat level has remained unchanged since then and one of the most recent reports that was just a few months ago, they did
say this is Federal officials now saying that look, the extremist threat is still the terrorist threat that most preoccupies authorities in Canada,
again coming from ISIS in one regard and there were at least several dozen Canadians who went over to fight for ISIS and then on top of that, it was
the continuing terror threats that they felt came from extremists.
As you heard, the Public Safety Minister mentioned there though, as of right now, the terror threat not elevated in Canada and that is because
they are waiting to see the kind of suspect that they are dealing with. As you pointed out though, look, these are the kind of incidents that no one
can really prepare for. There have been that extra security used in cities like London and...
GOLODRYGA: Here in New York.
NEWTON: ... here in Toronto even during - of course, in New York, we have seen the concrete barriers go up in New York during things like the Macy`s
Day Parade, which had been quite effective. They have used strategies like that here in London during the marathon. They`ve used it across the cities.
We have seen those kinds of tactics used in Toronto as well. What will be interesting now is if they believe that that should be used in some
different way.
I`d point out, there already were some concrete barriers there on one side of the street. It involves more of landscaping and trees that was not on
the other side of this street and they may look to more barriers like that. But again, a large sprawling city and Toronto Police will be wondering now
that if they find out that this was deliberate, how best to affect this.
But again, you know, this wasn`t a large event. This was just people strolling, trying to get lunch in what was normally a kind of a sparsely
populated community...
[16:20:16]
NEWTON: ... when you compare it to the amount of people that would have been on sidewalks closer to downtown Toronto.
GOLODRYGA: And that raises the big question of how can you ever prevent a vehicle from being turned into a weapon, if in fact this was the motivation
behind today`s tragic incident. Paula we appreciate you joining us and hopefully, we will be coming back to you and we will hear more from the
London Police - I mean, from the Toronto Police in just a few moments, but thank you so much for joining us from London.
And I want to go now to Christian Ali, who is a witness to what happened earlier. He is joining us on the phone. Christian, are you there?
CHRISTIAN ALI, WITNESS: I am.
GOLODRYGA: So, I hate to ask you this question at the front of our conversation, but what did you see and what was your reaction?
ALI: Well, I happened upon the scene probably a couple of minutes after it happened and I was just you know, slowly passing body by body trying to
figure out what was going on and first, we passed one gentleman that was you know, unconscious at the side of the road, and I saw a bunch of debris
and I thought, you know, maybe a car hit him while he was crossing the road, but there was too much debris.
And as we kept going up, I looked over on the left, probably about 60 feet away on the other side of the road, there is a gentleman injured in the
middle of the road. A policeman kneeling over him kind of bracing his neck and then probably a block up from that, and I thought at that time, wow,
what a coincidence. What`s going on today. There`s two accidents in such a short space.
And then about a block up from that, unfortunately, I saw this woman unconscious, face down blood coming out of head on the side of the sidewalk
and tragically, it looked like she had passed, and it was that point I figured something was going on. Some type of attack.
GOLODRYGA: So, this had happened obviously within minutes of the attack to where you were able to still drive by the scene, but as you said, police
were already there?
ALI: There was one police officer, only one, so I would say, there were three bodies that we saw, that I saw and then when I got to the top of the
scene where there were probably about four or five people on the ground on the sidewalk, lots of blood, were at least four or five, and some
pedestrians performing CPR on some of the individuals.
There were two police. One was attending to a gentleman, I guess the second person I saw and then, another police was at the top where incident
occurred. I do recall seeing a police car speeding going south on Yong Street. It looked like he was rushing to get - pursue somebody or get to
somewhere.
GOLODRYGA: It`s just gut wrenching to look at these images, and it appears, and correct me if I am wrong, that pedestrian sidewalks are rather wide,
almost as wide as the actual street itself, a lane on the street.
ALI: Yes, in that particular area, the subway runs underground, so where the incident happened was actually at the top of the subway station.
GOLODRYGA: Okay.
ALI: So, you know, let`s say at four o`clock this afternoon, it would be very packed, right, there are a lot of condos and businesses in the area,
but the sidewalks are huge. They are quite wide. You could drive a vehicle down there for quite a while.
GOLODRYGA: Christian, were you able to speak with any other witnesses there? Or get a sense of the sheer panic as to what just happened and what
others had witnessed this driver do?
ALI: Not at the time. I mean, we just kind of kept moving along trying to figure out what was going on. There were lots of people there. A lot of
people were bewildered in each scenario, like I think literally, it must have happened just a couple of minutes before we passed by.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
ALI: So, we kind of evacuated the area. There were people attending to who they could, yes.
GOLODRYGA: I am glad you are safe and were able to call in and obviously, it`s a great relief to hear of citizens helping other citizens there as
soon as a tragedy like this strikes. So, many questions left unanswered. Christian, I will let you know as well that Toronto Police within five or
six minutes are expecting a press conference and we will be following that and obviously, a lot of your questions will be answered, hopefully as well.
But we appreciate you calling in with this update.
ALI: Okay, thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Thank you so much. And we will be back in just a moment. Keep it here.
[16:25:00]
GOLODRYGA: And we are back with an update on the breaking news situation out of Toronto. We are getting from that a new video that appears to show
some kind of shootout with police. CNN partner, CTV says they obtained it from a viewer who does not want to be named.
It appears to show a person in a standoff with police, said to be near the scene of the van incident. The person appears to be pointing an object at a
police officer. CNN has not confirmed whether the person shown here is the suspect that police took into custody.
And Toronto police are not confirming an armed standoff to CNN, but say there may be information at a press conference expected at any minute now
and of course, we are going to bring that to you live when it happens here at CNN.
But we want to tell you about some other developments this hour. Part of our usual business agenda, it`s a very buys Monday today. Shares of
Alphabets spiked after hours. They have now come down just a bit.
Google`s parent company reported first quarter earnings that came in well ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue grew 26% year over year, Paul La
Monica is looking through the numbers. I have to say, 26% is a pretty good numbers. I have to say, 26% is a pretty good number, Paul?
PAUL LA MONICA, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: For a company of Google alphabet size is incredibly strong. For most companies, that`s a great result. It just
goes to show that there really I don`t think has been any fallout from some of the problems that we have had with the Facebook Cambridge Analytica data
scandal. People wondering whether or not YouTube gets caught up in those concerns about privacy issues.
It doesn`t seem to be happening just yet. Their search platform obviously, still very strong, so (inaudible) that`s minting money. They now have
almost $110 billion of cash.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, it is incredible, the amount of revenue this company is still producing and generating so many years after first launching, but I
am a bit surprised that there doesn`t seem to be a more, at least hesitation or concern from shareholders specifically about data privacy and
potential regulations.
We know that regulations in Europe are set to go into effect next month.
LA MONICA: Yes, there are worries that Google and Facebook and Twitter and other social media companies may get more regulated. Mark Zuckerberg, the
CEO of Facebook, he tried to argue and I think some people do believe it that the bigger companies are better positioned for any regulations because
they`ve already staffed up.
They have huge legal departments, huge compliance departments, so start ups might actually be hurt more by any new regulations than these titans, these
giants of the internet. I think Google probably would argue the same thing, but of course, Google didn`t go to Capitol Hill, it was just Mark
Zuckerberg.
GOLODRYGA: It was just Mark Zuckerberg, but of course, Google was included as well when it comes to these technology companies. Curious as to know
where Google stands as far as its rather significant investment in Uber some five years ago.
LA MONICA: Yes, Google has an investment in Uber, a company that is of course troubled in its own right. They brought in a new CEO to try and fix
some of the problems. We are just waiting for when Uber is going to finally file for its own IPO, so we can see just how much more money that Google
investment is will be worth if they were to start trading publicly.
I think a lot people feel that Uber is still a company that has a lot of promise ahead if the CEO can fix some of the many problems that they have,
but of course, it faces a lot of competition, Lyft here in the US, they are partnering with a lot of their rivals overseas, DiDi in China for example.
GOLODRYGA: Significant setback with their driverless cars, so that is (inaudible)...
LA MONICA: Yes, definitely.
GOLODRYGA: Paul La Monica, as we said, huge numbers for Google and we appreciate you joining us.
LA MONICA: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And we will return to our breaking news from Toronto. The latest developments right after a quick break.
[16:30:13]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Hello, I`m Bianna Golodryga, there`s more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment, but before that the headlines on Cnn this hour. Canadian
police say a suspect is in custody after a white van mowed down multiple people in a busy section of downtown Toronto a few hours ago.
There are casualties. No word on how many, and it`s not clear yet whether this is an act of terrorism. Witnesses and law enforcement officials say
the incident did seem deliberate.
The suspect in Sunday`s deadly shooting spree at a Waffle House Restaurant in Tennessee is now in custody. Travis Reinking was arrested Monday in a
wooded area in Nashville after 35 hours on the run. He`s charged with four counts of criminal homicide.
French President Emmanuel Macron is due to arrive at the White House in the next few minutes. His three-day trip is the very first state visit hosted
by the Trump administration. It`s expected that Syria, the Iran nuclear deal and terrorists will dominate the discussion.
Paris attack suspects Salah Abdeslam has been jailed for 20 years. He is the only survivor of that cell that allegedly carried out the terror
attacks in November of 2015. A Belgium court found him guilty of attempted murder over a shoot-out with Belgium police days before he was arrested in
2016.
And Britain`s royal family is a bit bigger tonight after the duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby boy. The new prince made his debut a short-
time ago with his mother and father. Prince William on the steps of London hospital before heading home to Kensington Palace.
And we want to return now to our breaking news from Toronto this hour. Cnn`s Jason Carroll is covering this for us and Samantha Vinograd served as
senior adviser to the U.S. National Security Advisor.
Jason, what can you tell us at this hour?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, it`s really eye witnesses from the ground that continue to piece together some of the
terrifying details of what happened there in Toronto which started at about 1:30, that`s when the white van that you`ve been seeing there in that video
jumped a curve according to eye witnesses and starts to plow down pedestrians who were just walking there on the sidewalks.
Witnesses described it as pandemonium as the van careened down the sidewalk.
[16:35:00] Another said that he saw four bodies there on the ground, he also said that he saw paramedics treating folks there on the ground, giving
them CPR.
And then there was also that traumatic moment because after the van traveled some half mile to a mile before it came to a stop, there`re that -
- there`s that traumatic moment when the suspect had that confrontation with the police officer who was there on the ground.
The suspect repeatedly taunted the officer as the officer shouted get down, get down. The suspect simulated drawing from his ways as if he may have had
a weapon. The officer used incredible restraint and was able to take the suspect into custody.
That suspect now under questioning. In terms of the injuries, one hospital there on the ground, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center says that that
hospital there has received seven patients from today`s incident, their conditions have not been released at this point waiting to hear from a
press conference that should be getting underway just any moment from now - -
GOLODRYGA: And Sam, from an --
CARROLL: Bianna --
GOLODRYGA: And Sam from an -- Sam, from an investigative perspective, how important is it that they were able to catch this driver alive, and what
can you walk us through the answers and some of the details that these investigators are trying to get out of him now?
SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Well, Bianna, unfortunately, this incident has become so copy over
the last few years.
There are routines of law enforcement and intelligent professionals go through in these kinds of vehicular attacks. The first thing is to make
sure that there`s no -- there`s no other additional loss of lives. That means obviously treating anyone that was impacted.
But also as we need more details, making sure that this wasn`t backed lone- wolf attack. Whether this was a terrorist incident, a mental health issue or some other motivation behind the attack, the immediate priorities is
making sure that it was an isolated incident.
And I think one of the things that the Toronto police remain in the lead on this issue are going to be doing in addition to questioning the suspect as
you mentioned, he was captured alive, is looking into social media quick print at his communications to make sure that he was not in charge with
anybody else to coordinate on this attack or to urge them to take some more steps.
GOLODRYGA: And though we of course don`t yet know if this was an act of terror, these are incidents unfortunately that we`ve now seen play out in
major cities around the world. In New York just a few months ago, and in fact, the NYPD New York, by the way just an hour`s flight from Toronto.
The NYPD issued a statement saying, "the NYPD is monitoring developments in Toronto through the Intelligence Bureau and in coordination with the Joint
Terrorism Taskforce here in Manhattan. Additional counter terror officers have been deployed to high profile locations and around the city out of
abundance of caution and until more is learned about today`s events."
Sam, I would imagine that the same kind of precautions are taking place in major cities around the world right now.
VINOGRAD: Most definitely, and there`s no team that we go through as government professionals when it`s turning into droppings. It`s worth
knowing that Canada is a member of what we call the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance.
Which means that we have a deepest side of intelligence sharing with these including Canada of anywhere in the world. So in real time, the situation
limit the White House, DHS and other members of the intelligence community are likely getting up-to-date information on what exactly the Canadian
police and Canadian authorities know about this individual.
Whether it was terrorist-related or not, I think that the NYPD and other large cities are going to be a bit cautious. Yet, Bianna, as you and I both
know, there was a vehicular attack in New York City under a year ago.
GOLODRYGA: Right --
VINOGRAD: And we had another attack in Germany two weekends ago, they did not in fact turn out to be terrorist-inspired, it was a mental health
issue. But I think around the world, there`s real-time intelligence sharing going on from Canada to other capitals with intelligence agencies.
GOLODRYGA: And it`s so important to us to have your expertise, obviously, given your background. Joining us right now and giving us a bit of
background is to what happens after a terror incident like this. As this does in fact appear to be a terror attack.
Sam, great to have you on, thank you so much. And we are expecting a press -- the Toronto police department, but before we hear from them, we can now
speak with Canadian lawmaker Leo Housakos who joins us on the phone.
First of all, Ali(ph), thank you so much for phoning in, our condolences to you and your constituents there, the entire city and country obviously as
we do know that there are casualties. What is the latest that you`re hearing?
LEO HOUSAKOS, CONSERVATIVE MEMBER, CANADIAN SENATE (via telephone): Well, thank you very much for that. I`m still in the nation`s capital, I`ll be
flying --
GOLODRYGA: And Ali(ph), I am so sorry to interrupt you, the mayor speaking, we will come back to you right after.
MAYOR JOHN TORY, TORONTO, ONTARIO: Fallen victim to this terrible act this afternoon. Our hearts and our thoughts and our prayers go out to the
families of those involved, and to their friends and co-workers.
[16:40:00] We obviously don`t have a lot of detail, we can provide this yet, but we now there were casualties and that our hearts and thoughts and
prayers go out to the families and friends of those people.
In times like this, we rely on our first responders to do the job that they are there to do for us, and I can assure you, having being at a briefing
that we`ve just completed in the last while, that we are very well served and were from the first moment that this became known to the authorities,
and that I want to assure people that the city is in safe hands at the moment and that they`re continuing with their investigation and the deputy
chief will have more to say about that in just a moment.
I also want to say that this is a time when this community should come together. These are not the kinds of things that we expect to happen in
this city, we hope they don`t happen anywhere in the world, but we especially don`t expect them to happen in Toronto.
But things are as they are, and beyond supporting our first responders as they continue to do their work, you will hear more about the task that lies
in front of them investigating this terrible tragedy. I hope that we will as a city remind ourselves of the fact that, we are admired around the
world for being inclusive and for being accepting and understanding and considerate.
And that we are united in standing in solidarity especially with those who have fallen victim to this terrible tragedy today. Now, I have some very
practical matters and I just want to look at my notes to make sure that I don`t forget any of these.
But I want to convey a number of things to the people of the city of Toronto, especially people in this area. First of all, we`re asking people
who live here or who work here, please, do not come to this area if you`re not already here.
The police and the other first responders have a lot of work to do on a very complicated investigation that it just helps with the task they had in
front of them if people are not in this area.
Secondly, we`ve asked and we are asking that all of the businesses and buildings that are office buildings where people work during the day, that
those people would in an orderly fashion close those businesses for the remainder of the day and ask people to go home.
It is close to the end of the business day for many people and any event, but we`re asking that people will close their businesses, and we`re asking
for those businesses that are on the east side of Yonge Street that they use Doris Avenue for those who are trying to leave by car or on foot.
And for those on the west side, that they use B-croft. In other words, we`re trying to keep people off Yonge Street near the scene of this
strategy so that the police can continue with their investigation so that there`s as little chance of any kind of disturbance of the scene of this
incident as possible.
So we`re asking that to be the case. I have already asked that the city government building at Thornhill, Markham Square will be closed for the
day, and I think again, it was close to the closing time. And so again, I`m hoping that those people are leaving that building in an orderly fashion.
We`re asking that people who are coming home to this area, please do the same thing. If they can use B-croft to the west of Yonge Street to get to
where they`re going. And if they can use Doris to the east, that will be very helpful.
We have Toronto police service officers, and we have as well people from our Transportation Services Department here to help with the traffic flow
so that people can get to where they`re going. But obviously, people do have to come home, but again, if they don`t have to come home for a reason,
then again it`s going to be easier if they don`t come tonight or if they come at a later hour so that not everybody is coming here at one time.
With respect to public transportation, as people will know, we have had the subway closed at the North York Center station today, but the trains have
been passing through -- passengers are asked to get off at Shefford, and the trains then go through on to Finch and people are not able to get on
and off at North York Center and in fact the trains are empty are traveling between those two stops going north bound.
We`re asking people to take that into account and their travel plans if possible, to use the York University to Spadina -- university subway line
or to use other means because obviously it will be more complicated than normal because we can`t offer shuttle buses on the section of Yonge Street
that is closed and will be expected to remain closed for some period of time.
I would say to people that -- I have been advised in the briefings that I`ve been -- pretty due this afternoon, that it is likely there will be
several days of disruption going on because there`s a major investigation obviously that`s going to be taking place here, and I hope people will be
considerate of that and understand that there likely will be disruptions to traffic and to business and to other things in this area of the city.
But as part of -- I`m sure, pulling together, we will understand that the sacrifices people will have to make in that regard would be reasonable in
the context of something as terrible as this that has happened, and that we have to get to the bottom of as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Finally, I will say that we have -- we are in the process of establishing two hotlines, two response lines for people, the first and most important
is for the families of those who are worried about loved ones and are trying to inquire about the wellbeing of their loved ones and I don`t have
the number at this very moment.
But they`re in the process of being established as we speak, and we`ll have that information for people very shortly.
[16:45:00] And the second one is one that will established separately which is for people who can help the police in any way.
If people have any information whatsoever about this terrible incident, we`re asking that they should contact the police through this number that
we will make available to you at the same time as we make the one available for the families and loved ones of those who may have been affected or
those who are concerned about that.
And so in introducing Deputy Peter, you and -- may I just say once again, that it is a time to be as calm as we can be in the city to understand that
our first responders are doing their job, especially our police. I can tell you how incredibly impressed I was at the professionalism and the
thoroughness of the people that I saw in action in the room that we`ve just come from.
And I hope people won`t forget that spirit of unity and that spirit of solidarity and that sense of calm that we should have as people go about
dealing with an awful tragedy. But nonetheless, they`ll be dealing with that I`m sure very effectively.
And on that note, I would ask that the deputy Yuen to brief you from his end, and we will not take any questions today because it`s just at a stage
work, it`s too early to start and do the kinds of things that I`m sure you`re going to know about. Deputy?
PETER YUEN, DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF, TORONTO: Good afternoon, my name is acting chief Peter Yuen, I`m here to relay some information to you as to what
happened today on Yonge Street.
Approximately, 1:30 this afternoon, Toronto Police received a number of calls from citizens indicating a vehicle is driving -- was driving on Yonge
Street and striking a number of pedestrians between Finch Avenue and Shefford Avenue.
That this is -- this time, what is known to us is, we`ve located that vehicle, driver is in custody right now and he`s been investigated due to
the event that took place this afternoon. I have -- I also want to offer my condolences to the families and the victims of this tragic event that took
place, we confirm for you tonight right now, nine people that are dead, 16 that are injured.
Toronto Police Service has mobilized all available resources, and I can assure the public all our available resources have been brought in to
address this tragic situation and to investigate this situation. And I also want to assure the public, the rest of the city, adequately, police by all
other resources.
As the mayor said earlier, we will be establishing two hotlines, one is for victims and families to call for their loved ones, the other one is for
more importantly for witnesses to call in because this is going to be a complex investigation.
Toronto service will be here for a number of days to shut down a busy stretch of Toronto. But this -- what is required because this is going to
be a long investigation where multiple witnesses -- would allow the surveillance cameras, and namely, at 1:30 this afternoon, there were a lot
of pedestrians though enjoying -- a lot of witnesses enjoying the sunny afternoon.
So we`re urging anyone that saw anything, please call crime stoppers or call Toronto Police Service and let us know. Those two hotline numbers will
be published very shortly on a website, throughout social media or Twitter, so please stay tuned.
The Chief is on his way back to Toronto, he will be addressing the media later on tonight. So there will be more information to follow later on
tonight. At this stage, I`d ask the city of Toronto, pray for our victims and also to assist the Toronto police service and bring in this matter to a
successful conclusion.
As I stated earlier, we have one person in custody and investigation is ongoing. That`s all I`m prepared to say, thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And there you just heard from the Deputy Police Chief of Toronto, Peter Yuen saying pray for our victims, and we can now confirm
that there are nine fatalities from today`s tragic accident, mowing down pedestrians in the streets of Toronto.
Nine people are confirmed dead as 16 people are currently injured. Not many more details that either the deputy police chief or the Mayor Tony -- Mayor
-- I`m sorry, John Tory was able to provide for us right now. They said this is an active investigation and it`s going to be continuing in the
hours and days to come.
They offer two hotlines, one for the loved ones and another for anyone with tips, any leads into this horrific incident that took place in broad day
light, a beautiful day in Toronto. I want to get back to Canadian lawmaker Leo Housakos who joins us on the phone.
And terrible news, Ali(ph), again, our condolences to you and your constituents there, nine people now confirmed dead, 16 injured. What is the
first name that comes to mind for you?
[16:50:00] HOUSAKOS: Well, as you can imagine, it`s been an incredibly tragic day, as soon as I heard about this, I`m actually in the nation`s
capital, so, I`m been trying to monitor development as closely as possible. But I will be returning to Toronto in a few hours.
But my heart goes out to everyone who was affected by this terrible incident, and also I think it`s important to thank all of the first
responders who have been doing an incredibly professional job responding to this incident.
GOLODRYGA: And appears, there are still so many unanswered questions and in these early hours of investigation, given that the driver is still alive,
one has to wonder how cooperative he is with authorities right now, given that the mayor and the deputy police chief were not able to offer any more
details or insights other than these staggering numbers in terms of those casualties there.
What will you be doing next, and in terms of talking to constituents and talking to residents there and laying any concerns that they obviously may
have right now in this tragic moment?
HOUSAKOS: I can imagine everyone is very unsettled about this. But I have every confidence that Toronto Police Services will be doing a very thorough
investigation. I know that Toronto Police Services is working very closely with both their provincial and national counterparts.
And given the professionalism that they have shown so far, I have no doubt that they will get to the bottom of this.
GOLODRYGA: And we were talking about a city, greater Toronto area, home to some 6 million residents there, a huge blow to such a large city from the
perspective of what happened next and what residents should be doing. What is your message to them?
HOUSAKOS: Well, I think it`s important at this juncture, not to jump to any conclusions to await more information from Toronto Police Services.
GOLODRYGA: Yes --
HOUSAKOS: It is very tragic, but it`s important that everyone recognize that it`s important that they stay away from the area. I can tell you that
they did have a lock-down to make sure that everyone was safe.
But it`s important for people to stay away, but of course, if they do have any information that could be helpful, they could call that into Toronto
Police Services. That would -- that would certainly be very helpful indeed.
GOLODRYGA: And unfortunately, these incidents have played out all too often in large metropolitan areas, around the world, we had an incident here in
New York a few months ago, we`ve seen it take place almost on a monthly basis in Europe as well.
From your perspective as a lawmaker in Canada, was this a concern of yours that could possibly happen on the streets of your country too?
HOUSAKOS: Well, safety is something that I think we can all recognize as something that should be taken very seriously. But no, I could have
expected something like this happening in my writing, no.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Leo Housakos, again, our thoughts are with you, it`s become cliche to say thoughts and prayers, but given that the loss of lives
here and the tragedy, you know, we`re just a few hours away from you there in Canada.
And we`re sending you our thoughts and obviously we`re going to be following up on any sort of information that we get from the police as the
hours and days unfold in this investigation. Well, we appreciate you taking the time and calling in today. Thank you.
HOUSAKOS: Thank you, very grateful indeed.
GOLODRYGA: And we`ll be back with more in just a moment.
[16:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: And we have more on our breaking news out of Canada. Police saying nine people are dead after a van struck a number of pedestrians in
Toronto. It happened at a busy intersection in the area of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue.
Paramedics are on the scene treating several patients. Toronto police say the van has been found and the suspect arrested. We are expecting an update
shortly from one of the hospitals in Toronto about the condition of some of those who were injured.
A witness at the scene says it was pandemonium.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just leaving my daughter here at 54-60 Yonge Street, I had just got out and lit a cigarette, when I did that, I turned
up my head and I saw the van hit a man walking through the intersection, it was a green light.
And he actually rode into the ropes, so at that point, I ran into the middle of the road and I stopped other cars, and then just pandemonium
broke loose as everyone was going crazy. That was pretty much all that I saw.
And we stayed with the man to make sure he was OK and no other cars were going to run over him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was he OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was conscious, yes, he couldn`t move, his eyes were closed, but he`d hang in there surprisingly enough, he hung in there, so I
hope he`s going to be all right and I -- the officer has asked me to come up to the intersection, appear to see if anyone else had been hit, I saw
about three or four bodies on the ground, other people were getting CPR, and then I had to go back and relay that information to him.
And that was pretty much it, I just hang with the cops about half an hour and just give some witness information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Good Samaritans coming to the aid of their fellow citizens. We want to thank the first responders there as well, and we want to thank you
for watching. That`s QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, I`m Bianna Golodryga, and of course stay with Cnn for more coverage of our breaking news story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
