The Toronto van attack suspect warned of an 'incel rebellion' on Facebook hours before the attack - here's what that means

Alek Minassian/LinkedIn

A screenshot from Alek Minassian's LinkedIn profile.

• Alek Minassian's Facebook account posted about an "incel rebellion" hours before the Toronto van attack took place.
• An "incel," or "involuntary celibate," usually refers to a man who lacks romantic relationships with women.
• The post also hailed Elliot Rodgers, a man who identified himself as "incel" before killing six people and himself.

The Facebook account of Alek Minassian, the suspect behind the Toronto van attack on Monday, threatened an "incel rebellion" in a post hours before the attack took place.

The now-deleted post from Minassian's account, posted on Monday, read:

"Private (Recruit) Minassian Infantry 00010, wishing to speak to Sgt 4chan please. C23249161.

The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!"

Catherine McDonald, a crime reporter at Global News TV channel in Toronto, shared a photo of the post:

What 'incel' is

"Incel" is short for "involuntary celibate," and usually refers to a man who has failed to interact with women, and lacks romantic relationships and sex. Men who identify this way have a history of advocating for rape and violence against women.

Elliot Rodger, the man to whom Minassian appeared to pledge allegiance, shot himself in the head after killing six people - three of whom via stabbing - in Isla Vista, California, in 2014.

Before his rampage, Rodger wrote a 140-page manifesto and recorded a video in which he lashed out at women for rebuffing him, and justified his attack as an act of "retribution." He also appeared to identify as incel in online posts before his death.

Reddit banned the r/Incel community, a self-styled incel "support group," last year as part of its promise to crack down on content promoting and glorifying violence against people. Many of r/Incel's posts called for rape and violence against women, and referred to Rodgers as "Saint Elliot."

Minassian's connection

Facebook confirmed to Global News reporter Catherine McDonald on Tuesday that Minassian's post was authentic, and that it has deleted his Facebook account.

When the post and Minassian's account were deleted remains unclear. Business Insider has contacted Facebook for clarification.

Minassian was charged on 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder on Tuesday morning. Police say the motive remains unclear.