Woman jabbed with needle while running errands in downtown Toronto
Woman jabbed with needle while running errands in downtown Toronto
Junlan Li was running errands in downtown Toronto Sunday when she says a passerby bumped into her and jabbed a needle in her back.
The incident, described in a now-viral Reddit post uploaded by Li, happened in the area of Yonge and College streets just after 3:15 p.m.
“I was just going to the grocery store, thinking about all the things I needed to buy, and then someone bumped me from behind, in a specific spot in my back, and I thought, ‘That was kind of weird,’” Li told CTV News Toronto Monday.
Li says she was unable to catch a glimpse of the person, but said she brushed it off since “it’s a busy intersection.”
Then, Li says a witness stopped her and told her they saw something more concerning and that the person who bumped into her had actually “poked” her on purpose.
“He asked me to check and see if I lost anything, if the [person] tried to pickpocket me or anything,” Li said.
After not immediately seeing anything of concern, Li thanked the Good Samaritan for stopping her, and went on her “merry way.”
But halfway down the next block, she says her back started to feel like it was burning.
“I reached up and touched my back, roughly where I was hit, [and] there was just a tiny puncture mark,” Li said.
At that moment, Li says she turned around, searched the nearest emergency department in the area, and walked straight there.
She says spent five hours at the hospital and that doctors treated the wound as a suspected needlestick.
She also says she has an appointment scheduled with an infectious disease specialist Tuesday.
On Reddit, she said the doctors ordered blood tests, and told her she has 72 hours to get post-exposure prophylaxis, or “PEP,” if an infectious disease clinic believes she needs it.
PEP, or post-exposure prophylaxis, is a type of medicine to prevent HIV, and treatment has to be started within 72 hours after a possible and recent exposure.
TPS INVESTIGATING
Li first called Toronto police’s non-emergency line while she was waiting at the hospital, and said it took about two hours to make a statement.
When reached for comment, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) confirmed with CTV News Toronto it is currently reviewing surveillance footage to find the suspect.
A spokesperson for the TPS could not provide any updates to CTV News Toronto, citing the ongoing investigation.
“This is not a common incident,” Const. Cindy Chung said. “If this does happen to someone, I would recommend that they report the incident to police and follow up with the hospital and complete any testing recommended to ensure their health and safety.”
Meanwhile, Li says she still feels a bit sore following the incident, and is grateful to the Good Samaritan who stopped her on the street.
“I usually have a bit of back pain, so I had not really clued into it.”
Without him, she says, “I might not have realized that there was something wrong.”
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
A suicide bomber who killed 101 people at a mosque in northwest Pakistan this week had disguised himself in a police uniform and did not raise suspicion among guards, the provincial police chief said on Thursday.
When the opera 'La Flambeau' premieres next week in Montreal, Black performers will be front and centre in an artistic medium where they have historically been under-represented.
In Washington progress on police brutality appears difficult, if not unlikely. Bipartisan efforts to reach an agreement on policing legislation stalled more than a year ago, and President Joe Biden ended up instead signing an executive order named for George Floyd, whose murder at the hands of Minneapolis police set off nationwide protests nearly three years ago.
A gay man issues a court challenge over Canada's policy restricting sperm bank donations, a Quebec woman is surprised to find her stolen car had been used in brazen Ontario robbery, and actor Ryan Reynolds drops by a Toronto college and surprises students. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Canada's new special representative on combating Islamophobia has apologized for words that hurt Quebecers after leaders in that province called for her resignation.
Longueuil police (SPAL) arrested Gilles Croteau, 57, in the Saint-Hubert borough on Jan. 24 after an investigation that led to 31 arrests across Quebec for various sex offences, including child pornography possession and production.
It's Groundhog Day! Canadians are waiting to learn whether some furry critters in Nova Scotia and Ontario will predict an early spring, or six more weeks of winter.
Bostwick Road has reopened following a serious crash on Wednesday evening. Around 7:20 p.m., emergency crews responded to the scene in south London for the incident involving two vehicles.
On Wednesday, London International Airport and Flair Airlines announced the newest destination out of London, Ont., and if you’re a fan of Slurpees, then you might just be in luck.
Wiarton Willie is set to make his spring prediction Thursday at 8:07 a.m. If the groundhog sees his shadow it will mean another six weeks of winter, but if he doesn’t, we could get an early spring.
A hearing is underway to determine if Udo Haan is not criminally responsible for the death of his wife Edra Haan, who was found in the aftermath of the 2018 house explosion in Kitchener, Ont.
Chief Mark Crowell made a presentation at a council meeting Wednesday justifying the proposed $214 million budget for the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS).
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
Ottawa ranks 45th out of 62 cities across Canada and the United States in a study on downtown recovery, with activity levels at 51 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
While crews have resumed operations in an attempt to open the Rideau Canal Skateway for its 53rd season, an NCC spokesperson tells CTV News Ottawa the canal will not open in time for the first weekend of Winterlude on Friday.
It's Groundhog Day! Canadians are waiting to learn whether some furry critters in Nova Scotia and Ontario will predict an early spring, or six more weeks of winter.
Following a suicide bomb blast that killed more than 100 people in a mosque in Pakistan’s northern city of Peshawar, community leaders in Windsor-Essex are reminding people these attacks are rare and should not be simply dismissed as a byproduct of living in that part of the world.
A new 911 dispatch system in New Brunswick means that now fire departments aren’t getting dispatched to all medical calls leaving residents waiting and first responders in the dark.
Calgary police are looking for suspects involved in an altercation that lasted for approximately an hour, spanned several communities and ended with a gun being fired.
Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service officials are encouraging any local victims to come forward following the arrest of actor Nathan Lee Chasing Horse in Las Vegas on sex assault charges.
The organization regulating medical care and services in Manitoba is apologizing for racism directed towards Indigenous people when accessing health care in the province.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
B.C.'s Ministry of Health is continuing its multi-year trend of paying millions more dollars each year to private surgical centres for the delivery of public health care, CTV News has learned.
Changes to the amount of time the public gets to voice their opinion during Surrey City Council meetings has caused controversy among former councillors.
Alberta's former chief medical officer of health has landed a new role in British Columbia. Dr. Deena Hinshaw was named a deputy provincial health officer for B.C. on Wednesday.
