The Toronto Maple Leafs held a moment of silence ahead of their playoff contest with the Boston Bruins on Monday to honour the victims of the van attack which occurred in the city in the earlier part of the day.
Prior to the moment of silence, the Leafs announcer asked patrons to remove their hats before saying: “Earlier today, our city was impacted by a horrific incident that claimed the lives of nine people and injured many others. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, the first responders and to all of those affected. All of Toronto is with you.”
READ MORE: 9 dead, 16 injured after pedestrians struck by van during attack in Toronto
Prior to the moment of silence, interviews from the pre-game warmup with Maple Leafs defenceman Ron Hainsey and Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron were shown.
“On behalf of myself and my teammates, we’d like to send our deepest thoughts and sorrow to all the victims and the families, and the brave men and women first on the scene who do so much to keep everybody safe, thank you so much,” Hainsey told Sportsnet.
“Hold your loved ones tight. Give them an extra kiss ‘cause I know I will, ‘cause you just never know anymore.”
Bergeron paired the two cities as he spoke of how Boston had been similarly affected by the Marathon Bombing in 2013.
READ MORE: Eyewitnesses describe panic as van hits Toronto pedestrians
“I can guarantee you, the city of Boston is behind the city of Toronto right now,” he said. “Unfortunately, Boston’s been through it in 2013 and same thing with my teammates. So my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this.”
The Leafs’ rivals in Monday’s game also issued a statement on Twitter over the incident.
The Toronto Blue Jays, who had the night off on Monday, provided support on Twitter, passing along their “heartfelt condolences to those affected in today’s tragic event.”
Toronto FC, which is currently on the road ahead of their next match in Guadalajara said, the team’s “hearts and minds are back in Toronto with those affected by today’s tragic events.”
On Monday afternoon, a man drove a rental van down the sidewalk of Yonge Street in northern Toronto. Ten people were killed and another 16 were injured in the incident, police said.