Toronto van attack suspect Alek Minassian gave a four-hour interview to police on April 23, 2018, just hours after he allegedly carried out a deadly rampage on Yonge Street. In this section, Minassian discusses his feelings toward women and a 2013 Halloween party where he felt he was snubbed.
Warning, some readers may find the content of the transcript disturbing.
Det. Rob Thomas: How do you feel about girls in general?
Alek Minassian: I'm attracted to them.
Det. Thomas: Oh you are OK, OK. So you're heterosexual…
Minassian: Yes.
Det. Thomas: …would it be fair to say that? OK, that's, that's important. Have you ever had a relationship with a, with a female?
Minassian: I don't wish to answer that.
Det. Thomas: OK, all right. In terms of females, I mean females and women because you're 25, you're a young man all right, we'll call them women. In terms of your feelings towards women in general, how would you describe that?
Minassian: I would say that sometimes I am a bit upset that they choose to date obnoxious men instead of a gentleman.
Det. Thomas: Yeah, yeah so I … I have a, well, I got involved in a situation I'll talk about later, but … so my understanding is you have some problems with women who date obnoxious men, right.
Minassian: Yes.
Det. Thomas: And these guys I'm thinking you're talking about the fellows who are loud, arrogant, generally … outgoing and popular with girls…
Minassian: Yes.
Det. Thomas: … is that what you're talking about?
Minassian: Yes.
Det. Thomas: OK and you have a problem with the women that date these fellows.
Minassian: Yes.
Det. Thomas: Why is it that you have a problem with, with the women?
Minassian: Because I feel that it's illogical to be dating such men when they can be dating a gentleman instead.
Det. Thomas: Right, right, right, that makes sense. I mean, and I've seen that because I've grown up, and I'll tell you one of the issues that I had as a kid growing up, because I was, this is going to sound… you might not believe me, but believe… I, I wasn't a very big kid growing up. I was actually very, very small and it took me a long time to… grow and so as a result … I was kind of ostracized. Do you know what I mean by ostracized? I was kind of…
Minassian: Cast aside.
Det. Thomas: …cast aside, yeah, yeah. And, or, left out. Like I wouldn't get picked for teams you know, or anything like that, you know. I was always kind of the last guy. You ever see those, those, you know those television shows where, you know, all the kids are lined up and they're getting picked for, you know, the teams and there's always one guy left out at the end…
Minassian: Yeah.
Det. Thomas: ...that was me. I was … I was that guy. And, and I never, I was never very popular with women, girls in, in, in school and that kind of actually went on through to the early part of my, my, my adulthood until I started getting taller and maturing, right. But I understand exactly what you meant because I was, as a kid growing up I was, you know, I mean I was like any other kid, any other young man, right? You would look at attractive girls and I knew I was probably just as smart, if not smarter than some of the clowns they were dating, but because for whatever reason I didn't have what it took, they wouldn't you know, they wouldn't date me because I think, because I was short. They wouldn't date me and they ended up dating, you know, the tall jocks and the other, you know, the good looking fellows. Is that what you're talking about?
Minassian: Yes.
Det. Thomas: Yeah, then yeah, then you kind of resent these girls, right?
Minassian: Yeah.
Det. Thomas: Because you know it's kind of a superficial way of deciding, you know, who it is you're going to date.
Minassian: Because height is an unfair… you can't control your height.
Det. Thomas: Right, exactly, right... What other things can't you control?
Minassian: You can't control your looks, either.
Det. Thomas: Exactly, exactly, yeah that's a good point. Although you're not a bad looking guy.
Minassian: Thank you.
Det. Thomas: No you are, you're a good looking guy. You keep yourself well and you're good, you're fit, you know, you're tall. What other things can't you control.
Minassian: I'm unaware of, I'm, I'm not aware of anything else you can't control.
Det. Thomas: What about like physical disabilities, right? Obviously if you were blind or you know…
Minassian: Unfortunately, you can't control that.
Det. Thomas: Yeah, you can't control that. That's what I mean. So these are things you can't control or, you know, other disabilities, you know, if you're mentally handicapped or if you, you… you have an amputee or, you know, there's, there's other, other things and I, and I, and so does that… would you include that in those? Those issues you can't control?
Minassian: Yes.
Det. Thomas: And so how long have you had this, this feeling towards women who are attracted to, you know, this particular type of guy?
Minassian: Ever since I started college.
Det. Thomas: Ever since you started college. OK. And, did it … was it something that occurred as a result of a single incident like it's… was there one particular moment in your life where it sort of struck home, this was a problem, or was it just…
Minassian: On Halloween of 2013, I was attending a house party and I walked in and attempted to socialize with some girls, however they all laughed at me and held the arms of the big guys instead.
Det. Thomas: Really.
Minassian: Yeah.
Det. Thomas: Well that's kind of rude. And how did that make you feel?
Minassian: I felt very angry.
Det. Thomas: Yeah.
Minassian: That they would, because I considered myself a supreme gentleman. I was angry that they would give their love and affection to obnoxious brutes.
Det. Thomas: Really, eh, really. And so it was at that particular moment and that was sort of the defining moment that made you think that, you know, this is, this is wrong, and you know these people are…
Minassian: Yes.
Det. Thomas: …are unfairly treating you in, in the way that they were.
Minassian: Yes.
Det. Thomas: Yeah, yeah that makes sense and I appreciate you telling me that, that says a lot, and so, so from that point on what, you know, what … did you start doing?
Minassian: I started thinking that it's unfair that certain guys will not get any love and affection from girls.
Det. Thomas: Okay and what, like what, what do you mean by certain guys?
Minassian: Such as me that are, that are very nice and acting gentlemanly.
Det. Thomas: Right, right, right, are there other guys? Did you find other guys that are in the same…
Minassian: There… I know of several other guys over the internet who feel the same way, but I know they are, I would consider them, too cowardly to act on their anger.