45-year-old woman charged with attempted murder in shoving incident at Toronto subway station

Toronto police say they have arrested and charged a suspect with attempted murder after a woman was pushed onto the tracks at a subway station Sunday evening.

Police said officers responded to a call about the incident, which took place at Yonge and Bloor Subway Station, at around 9:03 p.m. on Sunday.

When emergency crews arrived, police said they found the 39-year-old victim conscious and breathing. She was rushed to a trauma centre in serious but stable condition.

It was later confirmed the victim sustained a broken rib.

Police originally said that the woman was hit by the train, but a spokesperson for the TTC later clarified that the woman was able to roll under the lip of the platform, preventing her from being hit by the train.

On Monday, hours after police issued a surveillance image of the suspect in an effort to identify her, they reported that they arrested the suspect at Finch Go Station on Monday at around 6:18 p.m.

Edith Frayne, a 45-year-old Toronto resident, is now facing one count of attempted murder. She will attend court on Tuesday at College Park, police said. 

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It is unclear why the suspect allegedly pushed the woman and police say there is no reason to believe the two women knew one another.

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told CP24 on Monday evening that a TTC staff member saw the suspect and notified police.

“What I can tell you is that it was the quick work of one of our collectors who observed somebody at a station and they notified the authorities,” he said.

“That's how we can respond. We would rather that incidents don't happen in the first place, but when they do, people can be assured that we have a lot of eyes out there, including our fantastic employees who are out there to report these things.” 

On Monday afternoon, Toronto Mayor John Tory issued a statement in response to the incident, calling it "a shocking attack."

"I am also assured that the dedicated transit workers who were on duty when this incident occurred are receiving support as required,” he said.

“The TTC is safe and must remain safe and I will be following up on this incident to make sure the TTC and its partners, including the police service, is doing everything possible to protect the safety of riders and transit employees.”

The incident prompted the TTC to suspend subway service on Line 2 between St. George and Broadview stations. Trains on Line 1 were also bypassing Bloor-Yonge Station due to the incident.

Regular service resumed on both subway lines just after 11 p.m. 

This is the second time in five months that someone was pushed onto the tracks at Bloor-Yonge subway station. On Nov. 26, police said a suspect shoved a man who fell onto the tracks as a train approached.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact investigators at 416-808-5300 or though Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).