Eglinton Station subway stabbing reignites fears around TTC safety

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.

In response to the surge in violence, 80 additional Toronto police officers were deployed to TTC properties in January. Those overtime patrols ended in March.

Violence down overall, TTC says

The TTC says recent initiatives aimed at improving safety on public transit are working, following the release of data showing violent incidents against customers and employees appear to be decreasing from the elevated levels seen in 2022 and early 2023.

According to a dashboard the agency launched last month that tracks and displays metrics, the rate of reported offences against customers stood at 1.82 per million customers in May, a 32.6 per cent decrease from the rate in January. The rate of offences against employees was 8.39 incidents per 100 employees in May 2023, a 3.3 per cent decrease from January.

Public transit nevertheless played a major role in last month's mayoral byelection, particularly in terms of improving service, getting further expansions going and the safety of riders on the network.

Mayor-elect Olivia Chow was asked by reporters about Thursday's violent stabbing and responded that she had met with TTC Chair Jon Burnside about ongoing efforts to increase safety.

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green says passengers who witnessed Thursday's stabbing pressed a yellow emergency strip all subway trains are equipped with. 

"The yellow strip is basically a 911 call from a vehicle," said Green.

He says triggering the strip informs the TTC's transit control of the location of the vehicle and that there is an emergency on board.

It also stops the train at the next station, says Green, where transit control can direct emergency personnel, including police, ambulance or fire.

"We will not move the train until we get the all-clear from emergency responders," said Green.

While waiting at subway stations, Green adds, passengers should stay in the marked designated waiting areas, which he says are better lit and have better camera coverage than other parts of the station. They also have two-way intercoms that can be used in case of an emergency.

Green says the TTC is in the process of hiring 50 new special constables and have recently hired 50 new security guards, specially trained in dealing with addictions and mental health crises.

Many riders and transit advocates have stressed the need for effective cell service throughout the subway network as a key safety measure.

A new TTC report says Rogers will look to upgrade parts of the downtown subway network with 5G cell access by this fall.

Although Rogers says it is committed to providing other wireless carriers access to the network, the report doesn't say whether customers of other providers will have service at that time.

The report slated to go before the TTC board Wednesday says Rogers will look to provide 5G capability along Line 1's tunnels and stations from Union Station north to St. George and Bloor-Yonge stations by the start of the school year.