Recently, it seems like you can’t go online without seeing a shocking report of unprovoked, vicious attacks happening aboard the TTC. Over the past few weeks, and in particular this week, the attacks have become more frequent, with something happening almost daily and in the last five days alone, there has been four cases of violence reported.
Most recently, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed aboard a bus between Bloor Street and Old Mill Trail on Wednesday around 4:00 p.m. The victim was transferred to the hospital with serious injuries and according to the latest Toronto Police update, the suspect was last seen running down Bloor Street.
@citynewsto Boy, 16, suffers serious injuries after being st*bbed on TTC bus at Old Mill and Bloor. #news #canada #ttc #toronto ♬ original sound – CityNews
This incident comes after a series of violent attacks aboard Toronto’s public transit system over the last week including just a few hours earlier, when a suspect was arrested after two TTC workers were chased by an individual wielding a syringe Wednesday morning in Toronto’s Yonge and Dundas neighbourhood.
And just 24 hours prior, a woman in her 20s was stabbed in the head and face in a seemingly unprovoked attack. The suspect, now identified as 43-year-old Leah Valdez, has since been charged with attempted murder and weapons offences. The victim was transported to the hospital to be treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
There were also reports of multiple incidents last week involving TTC employees at Kennedy Station, a BB gun attack on a TTC bus driver, a man attempting to push people onto the tracks at Rosedale station and several assaults on random people by 10 to 15 teenage girls across various subway stations.
In response to the growing concern around safety for riders and employees aboard TTC, ATU Local 113 union president Marvin Alfred was quoted in a CP24 article pointing to Toronto’s ongoing housing crisis “combined with a lack of mental health services” as factors contributing to the violence seen on the network. Adding, “The TTC has ended up filling the gaps in our social safety net. Policing alone can’t fix it and Streets to Homes can’t get people into homes that don’t exist or are unaffordable,” he said.
