Sri Lankan woman killed in Toronto van attack
April 25, 2018 08:45 am
A Sri Lankan woman, a mother of one, is among the 10 victims killed in the deadly attack that saw a white van plow into pedestrians on Toronto’s busy Yonge Street on Monday.
Renuka Amarasinghe, 48, who is from the town of Horana in Sri Lanka and has been living in Toronto for the past couple of years, has been identified as one of the victims.
The deceased was a single mother of a 7-year-old boy.
She has been continuously involved with the Toronto Mahavihara Buddhist Centre for past 15 years, its Chief Priest Ven. Ahangama Rathanasiri Thero told Ada Derana.
According to the Thero, the bodies of the deceased have not been released as they haven’t been identified yet.
The ‘dayaka’ council of the temple has discussed to hold the final rites of the deceased Sri Lankan woman in Canada as she had received citizenship.
The temple will do the best they can for the deceased woman’s child and his future, said the Thero.
The Canadian government has expresses their condolences for the incident, Ven. Rathanasiri Thero said.
A total of 10 people were killed and 14 were injured when a man plowed a van into a crowd of pedestrians on a Toronto sidewalk Monday afternoon.
A man named Alek Minassian appeared in court Tuesday morning on 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.
In addition, a Jordanian man visiting relatives, a college student, an 80-year-old grandmother and two South Korean nationals were among those who died in a horrific van attack that shocked residents.
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.
Victims were predominately female and ranged in age from mid-20s to 80s, Det. Sgt. Graham Gibson told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.
He said that some of the injured had scrapes and bruises, while others suffered “terrible” injuries.
It will take days to confirm the identities of the deceased, the province’s coroner told reporters.
Officials are working with police to contact family and friends of those who they believe are deceased, and obtaining dental records, fingerprints and DNA.
-With inputs from agencies
