A man is in hospital after he was stabbed by a man wielding an unknown weapon in a seemingly unprovoked attack at a downtown subway station.
Emergency crews were called to College Station on Line 1 at around 12:40 p.m. after receiving reports about an altercation on a subway train.
When officers arrived, they found a male victim suffering from a stab wounds to his face and "lots of blood" on the platform. He was taken to hospital to be treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
TTC special constables engaged in a brief pursuit and struggle with the suspect before taking him into custody at the station. He was also taken to the hospital to be checked over.
Police also say they recovered a weapon at the scene, which they believe was used in the attack.
Sgt. Steve McGran said the ordeal started during an altercation onboard a southbound train heading into College Station.
“As a result, one individual was stabbed in the face and chest area,” McGran said. “He is now in stable condition and we have one gentleman in custody.”
Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu told CTV News Toronto that the attack appears to be “random and unprovoked.”
Witnesses say someone hit the emergency alarm, stopping the train briefly, before it pulled into College Station.
Ciara Nialand said she was standing just five-feet away from the suspect when he lunged at the victim. She said the stopped train created more chaos when people started to scatter away from the attacker.
“Everyone was just saying, ‘Run, run, run!’ I looked and I saw him and tried to run but everyone was trapped (on the train), we couldn’t go anywhere,” Nialand said. “I haven’t stopped shaking.”
When the doors opened, bystanders were able to drag the man onto the platform.
“He was yelling ‘help me,’ they were grabbing him and then he just fell to the floor,” Justin, who witnessed the attack, told CTV News Toronto. “There was just too much blood. The trail of blood was unreal… I’ve never seen so much blood in my life.”
According to another witness, the suspect started by punching the victim in the face.
“I was ready to get out and the suspect was standing near me and he was ready to get out too. Suddenly he turned to the victim who was sitting near the door and punched him in the face,” Ayan Ainabekov said. “The victim was shocked. He looked at him and (it seemed like) they didn’t know each other.”
Ainabekov said he realized the suspect was dangerous when he raised his arm to punch the victim again and spotted a weapon in his right hand.
“The suspect… He wasn’t normal. He was emotionless. It seemed like he didn’t see anyone,” he said. “Then he calmed down and sat near the wall and everything stopped at this moment. Other people were trying to help the victim, he was bleeding a lot and had lost a lot of blood.”
A portion of Line 1 was suspended downtown about an hour to allow for a police investigation. Full service resumed at the station at around 5 p.m.
