Eglinton Station subway stabbing reignites fears around TTC safety
CBC
Many TTC riders say they're shaken following a violent stabbing on a subway train near Eglinton Station early Thursday afternoon that left a man in critical condition.
The victim, a man in his 30s, was taken to hospital and he is now in stable condition, but police are still searching for his attacker.
"I don't really feel safe," says Kalell Jarquy, adding that he does not use his phone much on the TTC and keeps his AirPods out so he can better monitor his surroundings.
Others say they now avoid the TTC completely, including Sharnell Edwards, who told CBC Toronto Friday that she and her children moved out of the city to avoid any potential violence.
"The city needs to really cut down and really get that under control," she said. "It's really happening a lot now."
Thursday's stabbing is just the latest instance of violence on Toronto's public transit network. Gabriel Magalhaes, 16, was fatally stabbed in an unprovoked attack in Keele Station in March.
Police were called to Eglinton Station at around 12:20 p.m. Thursday. They say two men were on a southbound train headed when they got into an argument. A graphic video circulating online captured the two men kicking and punching each other before one pulled out a knife.
"The suspect then stabbed the victim multiple times," police said. Once the train stopped at the station, the attacker fled, police said.
Police described the suspect as 25 to 30 years old, about five-feet, 10-inches tall with a thin build and a shaved head and no facial hair. He was wearing a grey hooded sweater with "GAP" on the front, black pants, black shoes, and was carrying a green back pack.
"On a whole, based on things happening for almost a year, I generally don't feel safe riding the TTC," another rider, Kerry Bell, told CBC Toronto outside Eglinton Station on Friday.
Bell says she will take an Uber or taxi or even walk when the weather's good, but adds many don't have that option.
Violence on the TTC has opened a debate on how best to handle its causes, with some saying the answers lie in long-term investments in housing, social supports and mental health. Others say added security and police presence on the TTC will lower the number of incidents taking place.
"I would say I'm more self aware, and I try to stay away from the track. But there's also more security, so I'm hoping that that will do the job," TTC rider Marvey Ricker said.
There were 1,068 violent incidents against passengers in 2022, an increase of 46 per cent over the previous year, according to a report released by TTC CEO Rick Leary earlier this year. Over 2022's final two months, 245 separate incidents occurred.