Toronto police say nine people are dead and 16 are injured after a van apparently jumped onto a sidewalk from a busy intersection Monday and struck a crowd of pedestrians. The driver was later taken into custody, Canadian police said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the van to strike the pedestrians in the north-central part of the city. Police did not immediately identify the driver, reports the Associated Press.

CTV News reported that at least four of the hospitalized victims were in critical condition.

"At this point it's too early to tell what if any motive there was," Toronto police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said.

The incident occurred as Cabinet ministers from the major industrial countries were gathered in Canada to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June.