Toronto police are investigating a spate of armed robberies in the city's west end on Friday.
The robberies occurred primarily in the area of Bloor Street West and Christie Street between 6 and 8 a.m. Other robberies occurred in the vicinity of Spadina Avenue and Queen's Quay.
Police say at least seven women were approached by a man, who pointed what appeared to be a handgun at them and demanded money. In some of the cases the man fled the scene with a quantity of cash.
Police have established a command post in the Bloor and Christie area and are concerned there may be more victims who have not reported the muggings.
Sgt. Barry White said that the investigation has been slowed by victims who were slow to report the crimes. In some cases, the muggings were not reported for 30 or 40 minutes.
"If somebody asks for something, especially if they have got a gun, I'd say give it to them. Given them what they want, move on and call us as soon as you can," White said.
"Some of the calls were quite delayed. It makes it harder for us to act quickly and catch the guy … but then again if you've never had a gun pointed at you before, I don't know how I would react. If it takes 20 minutes for you to make the call, I can understand how that could happen."
The suspect is described as a white male in his early 30s, with a dark complexion and dark spiky hair. He is armed with a handgun.
CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry says that while the suspect has not been described as disheveled, reports suggest he smelled of alcohol and cigarettes during more than one of the incidents.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
With files from CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry
