Alek Minassian was born on 3 November 1992 in North York, Ontario, Canada. He grew up in the Toronto area, attended Sixteenth Avenue Public School, and later Thornlea Secondary School in Thornhill. Minassian was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and participated in special education programs throughout his school years. According to his mother, he had Asperger syndrome. He later studied at Seneca College in North York from 2011 until 2018 and lived in Richmond Hill.

Minassian briefly joined the Canadian Armed Forces in late 2017 but requested a voluntary release after 16 days of basic training. Military officials noted that he struggled with group interactions and discipline, but did not display any warning signs of future violence. He had no prior criminal history.

Professionally, Minassian identified as a software developer and maintained a LinkedIn profile listing experience in programming and mobile app development.

Prior to the attack, Minassian posted on Facebook referring to himself as an “incel” (involuntary celibate) and praised Elliot Rodger, the perpetrator of the 2014 Isla Vista killings in California. He declared his actions part of an “incel rebellion,” a term used within misogynistic online communities to describe retaliatory violence against women and sexually active men.

On 23 April 2018, Alek Minassian carried out a vehicle-ramming attack along Yonge Street in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario. At approximately 1:00 p.m. local time, Minassian rented a white Chevrolet Express van from a Ryder facility. Shortly afterward, he drove to the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue, where he mounted the sidewalk and began targeting pedestrians.

The attack spanned approximately 2.3 kilometers and lasted around seven minutes. Minassian deliberately drove on and off sidewalks, striking individuals in multiple locations between Finch Avenue and Sheppard Avenue. His route included several high-traffic pedestrian areas, including near shops, restaurants, and Mel Lastman Square.

Eleven people were killed, nine of them women, and fifteen others were injured, some critically. Victims ranged in age from 22 to 94 and included Canadian, South Korean, Jordanian, Iranian, and Russian nationals. One victim, Amaresh Tesfamariam, remained hospitalized and paralyzed until her death on 28 October 2021, becoming the eleventh fatality.

Minassian was intercepted at 1:32 p.m. by Toronto Police constable Ken Lam near Poyntz Avenue. During the arrest, Minassian attempted to provoke a “suicide by cop” by pretending to be armed. Lam recognized the object in Minassian’s hand was not a weapon and de-escalated the situation. Minassian surrendered without resistance.

He was charged with ten counts of first-degree murder and sixteen counts of attempted murder. His trial began on 10 November 2020. Minassian admitted to planning and executing the attack but pleaded not criminally responsible due to his autism. The defense argued that his cognitive condition distorted his moral judgment. Expert witnesses disagreed, and the judge ultimately rejected the claim.

On 3 March 2021, Justice Anne Molloy of the Ontario Superior Court found Minassian guilty on all counts. She ruled that his actions were deliberate and calculated, motivated by a desire for notoriety and possibly influenced by incel ideology. Minassian was sentenced on 13 June 2022 to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.