TORONTO -- The Toronto Raptors and Blue Jays voiced their condolences for the relatives of victims in Monday's vehicular attack in the city that authorities say killed 10 people and injured 15.
"I want to send my thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims of yesterday's tragedy," Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said after Raptors practice on Tuesday. "It's sickening. It's just something where my kids could have been there when they're older, you know what I mean? It's just a sad time. A sad day. It's kind of hard to put into words how you feel. It's just tough."
The Blue Jays honored the victims, and the first responders who rushed to the scene, with a brief tribute before Tuesday night's game against the Boston Red Sox.
Players from both teams stood in front of the dugouts as Toronto police officers and two paramedics stood between second base and the pitching mound and were introduced to cheering fans. Following a video message and a moment of silence, a group of high school students sang the national anthems.
A blue banner reading "#TORONTOSTRONG" was hung from the second deck in center field, and similar signs were hung on the wall behind home plate.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons called news of Monday's attack "brutal," while Red Sox manager Alex Cora said "it makes you sick just to think about it."
Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri said the team will memorialize the victims at Wednesday's Game 5 between the Raptors and Washington Wizards. The NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, who share the Air Canada Centre with the Raptors, hosted a playoff game just hours after the rampage. A moment of silence was observed ahead of the performance of the Canadian national anthem, during which vocalist Martina Ortiz-Luis yielded to the crowd singing in unison.
The attack occurred on Monday afternoon when a 25-year-old assailant drove a van into pedestrians at two locations along Yonge Street, one of the Toronto's main thoroughfares, in the city's North York neighborhood north of downtown. The driver was taken into custody by police without shots being fired.
Lowry offered praise to the arresting officer at the scene for his restraint.
"Kudos to that officer," Lowry said. "I'm sure some people wish that officer would have done damage to the man, but yeah, not my job. I'm glad that's not my job. That's why those guys, the police officers, they protect and serve to make judgment calls. He did an amazing job of making a judgment call. I think more people could learn from that."
The suspect was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder during a court appearance on Tuesday. By sunrise on Tuesday, dozens of flower bouquets and signs commemorating the victims were present at the site. The area remains closed to traffic for the foreseeable future.
"Our prayers go out to all the families involved," Ujiri said on behalf of the Raptors organization. "[Toronto] is the best city in the world, and it's going to continue to be the best place and the best city in the world. These things happen, it's happened to the best of other cities and the best of other places. I think we must continue to live our lives and not be afraid."
Canada recently mourned another tragedy when a semitrailer crashed into the bus of a junior hockey team from the small town of Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Sixteen people died from the accident. At Game 1 of the Raptors' series with Washington, Drake sat courtside wearing a Humboldt hockey jersey.
The Economist magazine's 2017 Safe Cities Index ranked Toronto as the world's fourth-safest city among 60 global economic and social hubs, a point emphasized by both Ujiri and Raptors coach Dwane Casey, each a transplant to Toronto.
"It's very unfortunate because just this weekend I was talking to people about how safe Toronto is, how it's a melting pot and we don't have the same crime," Casey said. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the families who were affected."
The top-seeded Raptors and Wizards are knotted at 2-2 in their seven-game series after Washington won consecutive games on its home floor.
"There are things much bigger than sport right now going on in the world and, right now, Toronto," Casey said. "So it does put it in perspective, but hopefully sport can give a relief, a reprieve, some joy in our lives."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
