The suspect being held in the ramming deaths of 10 people in Toronto purportedly lauded a U.S. mass murderer on social media before mowing down more than a dozen people, CNN is reporting.
Further, one U.S. law enforcement official told CNN that Alek Minassian was known to Canadian authorities, though they have said "there's nothing we have ... on him right now," CNN reports.
Minassian was charged Tuesday with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder after allegedly driving a rental van for about a mile down a busy Toronto street, swerving onto the sidewalks and plowing down pedestrians.
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said Minassian's "actions definitely look deliberate" though police continue to investigate a motive, CNN reports.
Saunders said Minassian, of Richmond Hill, Ontario, was not carrying a weapon and was taken into custody after a showdown with police during which he brandished an object and told officers, "Shoot me in the head," The Washington Post reported.
A Facebook posting linked to Minassian surfaced showing he gave praise to Elliot Rodger, 22, who killed six and injured 14 during a rampage in 2014 in Santa Barbara, California, before killing himself.
The post, purportedly by Minassian:
"Private (Recruit) Minassian Infantry 00010, wishing to speak to Sgt. 4chan please. C23249161. The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!"
The Incel Movement is reportedly a subculture for people who feel they are victims of enforced celibacy. Chads, for example, is a reference to attractive males who have casual sex with women, Stacys, according to a Grinnell College study.
"Incels describe themselves as directly opposing men they call 'Chads,' their word for attractive men who have sex with lots of women. The female counterpart of a Chad is called a 'Stacy,' and she is viewed as unattainable," the Grinnell study says.
"Incels talk about Chads in a reverent way, while talking about Stacies in a hateful way. They strive to be Chads, but demean the Stacies Chad is allegedly having sex with," according to the Grinnell study.
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