Toronto mayor remains confident in TTC despite recent stabbings

Mayor Olivia Chow says violent incidents on the TTC are continuing to decline, despite two stabbings on the system over the span of 24 hours.

The latest incident occurred inside Bloor-Yonge Station late Monday night, Toronto police say.

Officers were called to the TTC station just before 11 p.m. Both the victim, a 43-year-old man, and a suspect, a 22-year-old man, were stabbed during what police described as an altercation.

At the scene, officers said they located two males with injuries that were initially described by Toronto paramedics as life-threatening.

They were both transported to hospital where their condition has since stabilized, police said.The incident came on the heels of an altercation that began on a bus in North York on Sunday night and led to the stabbing of a male victim.

He was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

“My heart always sinks a bit when I hear about arguments on the TTC that then lead to violence and I am glad in the case of yesterday the police investigated and were able to get the suspect apprehended…” Chow said at an unrelated news conference on Tuesday morning. “But I do want to emphasize that the number of safety incidents or violent incidents is down by 28 per cent (year-over-year). That is three out of 10 fewer violent incidents.”

Chow said she spends at least one hour each week speaking with TTC riders at subway stations and believes the vast majority of those individuals have confidence in the system.

However, she did acknowledge there may be some Torontonians that are “fearful” about violence on the TTC and are not riding the transit system for that reason.

“I want to urge them to try it,” she said, noting that the city has “invested heavily” in safety and hiring more frontline workers to watch over the system.“

“There are more than 400 of them. It includes special constables, police officers, mental health crisis workers and more eyes and ears on the subway platform,” she said.

TTC boss speaks to Toronto police chief

In a statement, the TTC said that while both stabbings are still under investigation, it appears they are the result of “disputes that escalated.”

The TTC said that CEO Mandeep Lali has spoken to Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw about the latest stabbing incident.

“They agree that safety on public transit is a priority for both organizations and we will continue to work together to keep that a focus,” the TTC wrote.

Police have identified the suspect in the stabbing at Bloor-Yonge Station as Aaron Hanson, 22, of Toronto.

He is facing four charges, including assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.