A man has been arrested after he allegedly tried to push one person onto the tracks of a downtown Toronto subway station on Friday.
Toronto police said the alleged incident occurred at Bloor-Yonge Station around 12:44 p.m. A man believed to be in his 50s approached an individual on the subway platform and allegedly assaulted him.
The suspect fled the scene but was later arrested.
Police said the victim had already left the area before officers arrived. They are appealing to the victim to contact investigators.
Meanwhile, the TTC said a janitor saw the incident and immediately reported it.
"The janitor saw the altercation between two parties on the platform at Bloor Station, immediately called that in, and was reported through our transit control centre," TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said.
Staff were able to identify the suspect and determined that he had boarded a northbound train.
Green said the train was held at Rosedale Station, where the suspect was eventually taken into custody.
"The system worked as it should," he said. "But, there are stark reminders that there are things about security and safety that we need to do better at the TTC."
The alleged assault is the latest violent incident reported on the TTC. Earlier this week, a man allegedly struck one person wearing a religious head covering at Bloor-Yonge Station before making derogatory comments. Police are investigating it as a possible hate crime.
Last month, a man allegedly attacked two passengers at Kennedy Station, while a woman was killed when she was stabbed at High Park Station.
In April last year, a woman was seriously injured when she was pushed onto the subway tracks at Bloor-Yonge Station. The victim has since filed a lawsuit against the TTC.
In an attempt to bolster safety in the transit system, $4 million of the $2.38 billion TTC budget will be allocated to hire new special constables and Streets to Homes outreach workers.
"These random incidents are, by their very nature, unpredictable," Stuart said. "How we are addressing this is we're going to have more bodies in the station."
In addition to special constables and outreach workers, Stuart said station supervisors will be more visible to give people an extra level of comfort and security.
As to what else can be done to prevent further violence, Stuart said there needs to be cooperation between the TTC and other government agencies to address the root causes.
"We're a transit agency. We're not a social service agency. Our core business is public transit. We have an obligation to our customers to keep them safe. And we will do that as best we can," Green said.
"We're more than happy to be part of a discussion about reducing roots or identifying root causes of crime and reducing these incidents before they happen."
