10 killed in Toronto van attack begin to be ID'd

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The names of the dead in Monday’s horrific massacre on Yonge St. are slowly being revealed by family and co-workers.

A Jordanian man visiting relatives, a college student, an 80-year-old grandmother, an Invesco employee, a TDSB worker, and two South Korean nationals were among those who died in a horrific van attack that shocked GTA residents.

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Ontario’s chief coroner said it would take days for the names of the 10 deceased to be officially released, noting his office wanted to be careful to get things right. 

But portraits of some of the victims of Monday’s attack started to develop as those who knew them began speaking out.

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Toronto Councillor Cesar Palacio identified a victim as Anne Marie D’Amico during a brief council meeting Tuesday morning at City Hall.

Palacio is a friend of the D’Amico family, who live in his Ward 17, Davenport riding, and visited with the father, Rocco, on Tuesday.

“Rocco and I were crying. I knew Rocco was living the worst nightmare. They have lost a part of their life. They are so empty and it’s hard to imagine what they are going through,” Palacio told the Toronto Sun.

“There was nothing I could say or do to take the pain away from them. The same applies to all the families. This unthinkable tragedy brings us all together as a single family.”

Tennis Canada said D’Amico had been working at Rogers Cup since age 12 and was “voted volunteer of the year in 2016.”

“Anne-Marie started out as a ball girl and went on to become an integral part of the volunteer team, most recently serving as committee head of Stadium Control in addition to her full-time role with Invesco.

“She was always smiling, had the biggest heart and always put other people’s needs ahead of her own,” said Gavin Ziv, the vice-president of Professional Events at Tennis Canada.

According to her Facebook page, D’Amico studied at Ryerson and has worked at the Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto and charity Live Different, which works with youth “toward a lifestyle of compassion and service.”

Meanwhile, Seneca College said a female student was also among those killed, but didn’t provide further details.

“She was, along with nine others, an innocent victim of this tragic act of violence,” college president David Agnew said in a statement. “I want to extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends.”

The grandson of Dorothy Sewell confirmed on Facebook that she was one 10 people killed in the attack.

Elwood Delaney of Kamloops, B.C., described his grandmother as an avid sports fan who “almost had as much love for the Blue Jays and Leafs as she did for her family.”

“(She was) the best grandmother anyone could have asked for,” Delaney told The Canadian Press.

Another victim of the van attack was identified by Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency as Munair Najjar, who was in Toronto visiting family. The news agency said the embassy was helping arrange for Najjar’s body to sent back to Jordan.

Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse worker Chul Min “Eddie” Kang was also killed, the restaurant said.

A South Korean news agency cited government officials as saying two Korean nationals were also among those killed.

And the Toronto District School Board said on Wednesday that an employee had died in the van attack

“It is with heavy hearts that we are learning of the death of a TDSB staff member whose life was tragically cut short during Monday’s horrible events along Yonge Street,” said John Malloy, director of education.

“Renuka Amarasingha, a former TDSB adult student, was a Nutrition Services staff member who had worked at a number of TDSB schools since 2015 — most recently at Earl Haig Secondary School, where she had just finished up her first day. We are reaching out to her loved ones to support them in any way possible.”

A monk at a Toronto Buddhist temple said she was the single mother of a seven-year-old.

Fourteen people were also injured when a rented Ryder van mounted the sidewalk on Yonge St. south of Finch around 1:30 p.m.

Alek Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, was arrested shortly after nearby. He faces 10 charges of murder and 13 of attempted murder, with a 14th charge expected.

Thirteen of the injured were named in initial court documents. They are: Sammantha Samson, Samantha Peart, Morgan McDougall, Mavis Justino, Catherine Riddell, Aleksandra Kozhevinikova, Amir Kiumarsi, Yunsheng Tian, Jun Seok Park, Amaresh Tesfamariam, Beverly Smith, Robert Anderson, and So Ra.

— With files by The Canadian Press