Toronto police have arrested a man suspected of assaulting at least five people on TTC buses, including a Muslim woman, who, according to one organization, may have been targeted due to her faith.
The first incident happened on Wednesday on a TTC bus travelling on Midland Avenue between Silver Star Boulevard and Huntingwood Drive.
Police said the suspect allegedly assaulted four passengers unprovoked. He later got off the bus and fled the area.
The four victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
One of the victims was a woman wearing a hijab, according to the North American Muslim Foundation.
In a news conference the day after the assault, the group said the woman was struck by the suspect as he was entering the bus.
She suffered a concussion as a result of the attack, the NAMF said.
The second incident happened on Thursday afternoon on a TTC bus travelling south on McCowan Road.
Police said the same suspect allegedly assaulted a passenger unprovoked. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect shortly fled but was later located and arrested by officers, police said.
In a news release on Friday, police identified the suspect as 37-year-old Michael Ye of no fixed address.
He has been charged with five counts of assault.
The incidents are not being investigated as hate-motivated, but police said the Hate Crime Unit had been notified. They added that the other victims were not “visibly Muslim.”
The NAMF expressed concern that the assault on the woman may have been motivated by anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia.
The TTC has condemned the assaults, saying that the matter was being treated seriously.
“Everyone riding on (or working for) the TTC deserves to both be safe and feel safe at all times when on our property or vehicles,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras
