Editing Alek Minassian (section)

== Early Life ==
Alek was born on November 3, 1992, in Richmond Hill, Ontario to a father from Armenia and a mother from Iran. He attended Sixteenth Avenue Public School, where he was put into a special needs class and was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. He later transferred to Thornlea Secondary School, where classmates described him as harmless and not overly social. In 2011, he enrolled at Seneca College to study software development. During his time at college, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces for 2 months where a senior military officer said that Alek wasn't adapting to the military life. 

After being ridiculed by some women at a Halloween party in 2013, Alek began to resent women (particularly "alpha" women whom he referred to as "Stacys"). In the weeks before [[Elliot Rodger]]'s [[mass shooting]] in 2014, which he claimed in his manifesto was revenge for his involuntary celibacy, Alek had contact with him on Reddit and came to believe that the attack was part of a rebellion against a society dominated by "Chads" (alpha men) and "Stacys".<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/alek-minassian-toronto-van-attack-incels-891678/#! How the Toronto Van Attack Suspect Was Radicalized by Incels], ''Rolling Stone''</ref> In a Facebook post hours before the attack, he called himself an [[incel]] (an abbreviation for "involuntary celibate", a person who believes that his sexual inactivity is the result of factors beyond his control) and showed support for Elliot Rodger, who he referred to as the "Supreme Gentleman."<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/25/us/incel-rebellion-alek-minassian-toronto-attack-trnd/index.html The Toronto suspect apparently posted about an 'incel rebellion.' Here's what that means], ''CNN''</ref>