‘How Am I Going to Get This Chaos Under Control?’ Detective Reflects on Van Attack

Insp. Graham Gibson, the lead detective in the Toronto van attack investigation, poses for a photograph in Markham, Ont., on March 5, 2021. Emotions flooded Inspector Gibson's mind when a judge found Alek Minassian guilty of murder in the van attack in Toronto. Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press

TORONTO—Inspector Graham Gibson never bought into the argument that autism prevented Alek Minassian from knowing that killing unsuspecting pedestrians on a crowded sidewalk was morally wrong.

But despite the strong case he built as the lead detective in the Toronto van attack case, Gibson had nervously awaited the verdict unsure of the outcome.