‘Jordanian killed in Toronto van attack’

AMMAN — Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that a Jordanian was among the victims of the deadly van attack that took place in Canada’s Toronto.

A ministry’s source told The Jordan Times that Jordanian national Muneer Al Najar, who was visiting his son in Toronto, was among the ten people who were killed when a Canadian man plowed pedestrians on a crowded sidewalk.

The suspect, identified as Alek Minassian, 25, was charged with ten counts of first-degree murder on Tuesday, as police probed what motivated his rampage, according to Reuters.
The official source, who preferred to remain unnamed, added that the Jordanian Embassy in Ottawa contacted Najar’s family and offered their condolences.

The embassy is following up with the Canadian authorities on their investigation of the incident and the measures they will take, the source said, adding that the Foreign Ministry is now working on preparations to transfer Najar’s body to Jordan, the source said.  

Although the attack had the hallmarks of deadly vehicle assaults by the Daesh terror group’s supporters, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was quoted by Reuters as saying that there was “no reason to suspect any national security connection.” (see separate story on page 7)