Toronto Officer Praised for Response in Standoff with Van Suspect

Images of the tense standoff between officers and the man suspected of hitting and killing multiple people on a Toronto sidewalk with his rented van are earning Toronto police kudos for their response, reports the Toronto Star .

The bystander footage shows a man standing near a white van stopped on a sidewalk, with his outstretched arm pointing a dark object at an officer out in the street. A man’s voice can be heard telling the officer to “kill me” and “shoot me in the head.”

“I have a gun in my pocket!” he yells, and is ordered to “get down or you’ll be shot.”

An officer arrested the suspect. No shots were fired.

“Grateful for the brave and professional response of Toronto police and other first responders to the horrific attack at Yonge and Finch,” Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale tweeted.

Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, credited the officer, whom he called “a great guy,” with preventing further carnage.

Related: Toronto Van Attack Suspect Charged with Murder