AKIPRESS.COM - Ten people have been killed and 15 injured after a man drove a van into pedestrians in Toronto, police said.

The suspect has been named by police as Alek Minassian, 25, BBC reported.

A man was arrested several streets away following a tense standoff with officers on the street.

Bystander videos appeared to show the driver pointing an object at the officers, who could be heard shouting at him to get down. The man was then detained without any shots being fired.

Toronto deputy police chief Peter Yuen asked for witnesses to come forward and said there would be "a long investigation". He said separate hotlines had been set up for victims' families and for witnesses.

City police chief Mark Saunders told a news conference that the incident appeared to be deliberate but the motive was still unknown. He said Alek Minassian, from the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill, was not previously known to them.

Canadian public safety minister Ralph Goodale, in a tweet thanking the emergency services, referred to the incident as a "horrific attack".