Suspect still at large, stabbing caused chaos among riders on train

A man in his 30s is in stable condition in hospital after he was stabbed on a moving TTC subway car near Eglinton station on Thursday, Toronto police say.

The suspect fled the station and is still at large, Duty Insp. Michelle Olszevski, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told reporters outside the station.

Police believe the stabbing is not random and that an argument preceded the physical violence..

“This is not believed to be random. This is an isolated incident and it appears that there was a verbal disagreement between the suspect and the victim prior to the stabbing occurring,” she said.

Police were called to Eglinton station shortly after 12:20 p.m. When officers arrived, they found the victim with multiple stab wounds.

Toronto paramedics took the man to a nearby trauma centre through an emergency run. Initially, he was listed in life-threatening condition.

Olszevski said police from 53 Division and officers from forensic identification services, with the help of TTC security, are on the scene investigating, reviewing video and collecting evidence.

She said police are aware that there is a video circulating on social media of the incident and the suspect.

Many witnesses have spoken to police and she said anyone else who has video or who witnessed the stabbing is urged to contact police.

Olszevski said TTC safety is a concern of the police.

“I can tell you that the Toronto Police Service is committed to safety of all citizens across the service, including those riding the TTC. And although TTC security is primarily in charge of security on the transit system, we do support them and we respond to all calls for service and emergencies on the transit system,” she said.

Police patrol the transit system on their regular shifts and take the safety of riders very seriously, she added.

Trains were not stopping at Eglinton station as of 6 p.m.and the stabbing has shut down Line 1 service between Lawrence and Davisville stations. Shuttle buses have been running to replace the subway trains.

Meanwhile all bus service at Eglinton station has been redirected to St. Clair, the transit agency said.

TTC says violence on its property ‘unacceptable’

Stuart Green, spokesperson for the TTC, said the transit agency learned on Thursday afternoon that a stabbing victim had been located inside Eglinton station.

“Our thoughts are with the victim at this uncertain time,” Green said.

“Safety of our customers and employees is paramount to all we do. While we don’t have any more information, incidents of violence on TTC property are unacceptable and are of great concern.”

Green said the TTC is helping the police as it investigates the stabbing.

He added that the TTC has invested in additional safety and security measures and entered into partnerships with the city, police, community outreach and crisis response officials because it takes safety is a priority.

Saya Sedighi, a University of Toronto masters student in the department of molecular genetics, said she was entering the Eglinton station at about 12:20 p.m. and went downstairs to board a southbound train to go downtown.

“Once the door opened, a lot of people were rushing out,” she said.

“We were trying to get in and then people were shouting from the outside, ‘Don’t get in, someone’s got something,’ but we didn’t really hear it properly because on the TTC is really hard to hear what people are saying in the speakers,” she added.

“And then we all rushed out and we thought everything is settled. We were just waiting for the train to start moving and then we rushed in again and we rushed out again. It was just very confusing because we weren’t sure what is happening.”

Then some transit riders said someone got stabbed, she said,

Sedighi said transit riders weren’t sure what was happening until the police and paramedics arrived. Police told the transit riders that the station needed to be evacuated. There were no tweets from police or TTC for at least 15 minutes, she added.

“There wasn’t really clear instructions on how or like when or what shuttle buses to take or what is happening exactly,” she said.

Violent incidents on TTC ‘very scary,’ rider says

Sedighi said she takes the TTC twice a day and violent incidents are “very scary.”

“Honestly, it makes me feel that TTC is actually not as accessible as people think it is,” she said.

“It’s going to be either you live for another day, or you get stabbed on TTC, or you get a car, and it’s not really that easy. It makes me feel like TTC is actually not really that safe anymore and they’re not doing anything about it.”

Police described the suspect as five foot 10 to six feet tall, bald, wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, black jeans and black and gold sunglasses.

Anyone who witnessed the stabbing or has information relevant to the investigation is asked to contact police.