The middle-aged suspect accused of pushing three youths at Dufferin subway station, two of whom fell to track level as a train rushed towards them, will be staying in custody for now.

The Toronto man appeared in court Saturday morning. He has been remanded in custody until a bail hearing on Tuesday.

The court has ordered he undergo a psychiatric assessment.

Late Friday afternoon, in an allegedly unprovoked attack, the man is accused of pushing the teens, who were part of a group of five. Two landed on the tracks as an eastbound subway train pulled into the station.

'One child went under the lip of the platform to protect himself and as well, pushed the other child under the lip," Toronto Police Service spokesperson Const. Tony Vella told reporters Friday.

The train's operator tried to brake, but the second teen's left foot was injured.

However, neither youth was seriously injured.

One youth has been identified as Jacob Greenspon, son of Edward Greenspon, editor-in-chief of the Globe and Mail newspaper. Jacob remains in hospital.

"I think what went through his head, from our discussions, is just getting off that track as fast as possible," Greenspon told CTV Toronto on Saturday.

"He knew what had happened. He knew he was on the track. He felt that he'd been pushed, and he just knew that he needed to scramble to safety. And his friend was telling him, 'Let's roll. Let's get out of here.'"

At the emergency room Friday night, Greenspon said Jacob told him his friend saved his life.

As the suspect went to leave the station, a TTC collector tried to stop him. They scuffled and the man exited and went south on Dufferin Street.

"The TTC collector and a patron chased the accused. The accused assaulted the patron," police alleged in a news release. "Both men managed to control the accused, till police arrived."

Greenspon said Jacob understands "it was a random act, it was an unprovoked act. There was no cause. He has wondered about the man who pushed him."

Greenspon went to court to see the man accused of pushing his son. "I was curious what he would look like, but it was very hard, particularly in that setting, to draw many conclusions," he said.

Adenir DeOliveira, 47, faces three counts of attempted murder and two assault charges.

TTC spokesperson Brad Ross told reporters on Friday evening that such incidents are very rare.

This isn't an exhaustive list, but here are some other subway shoving incidents:

  • May 21, 2008 - A stranger pushed a man at College station, causing him to fall to the tracks. Fortunately, there was no oncoming train.
  • March 7, 2002: A man pushed a woman into a train at Runnymede station
  • March 5, 2002: A woman pushed another woman to the tracks at Coxwell station as a train roared in. The victim rolled to safety under the platform

In the most chilling case, a mentally ill man who had fantasized about pushing a beautiful woman in front of a subway train acted on that fantasy.

Herbert Cheong pushed Charlene Minkowski to the tracks at Dundas station on Sept. 26, 1997. She would die of her injuries. He eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 15 years.

There have been other security incidents in the subway system lately:

  • a Jan. 22 shooting at Osgoode station
  • armed robberies of collectors on Feb. 3 and 4
  • a stabbing at Wilson station on Feb. 12

However, the TTC notes that than there are more than 1.5 million rides handled daily by the subway system.

With files from The Canadian Press