Woman taken to hospital after another apparent random attack at Toronto transit station

Police are investigating after a woman was knocked unconscious following an apparent random attack at Kipling Station.

It happened at around 11:15 a.m.

Police say that the victim, who is believed to be in her 60s, was walking through the transit station when she was approached by the suspect.

It is alleged that the suspect then punched the woman in the face unprovoked, knocking her unconscious.

The victim was revived at the scene but was then taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries, paramedics say.

The suspect was last seen in the station and it is unclear whether he boarded a bus or subway.

He is described as a black man in his mid 30s. He was wearing a black shirt, black pants, a black toque and a white scarf. 

• Download our app to get local alerts to your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

The incident comes after another “random attack” at Kipling Station last month in which a woman was allegedly set on fire. That woman was rushed to hospital with second- and third-degree burns but succumbed to her injuries earlier this week.

A suspect is facing multiple charges in connection with that incident.

There have also been a spate of other violent incidents on the TTC in recent months, including one which saw a woman pushed onto the tracks at Bloor-Yonge station in April. The victim in that incident is suing the TTC for $1 million.

“I know on days like today it is a bit hollow to say the TTC is safe, but it is. By any measure the TTC is a safe system. We move hundreds of million of people every year, the majority of whom without incident but on days like today and days like we have seen recently there is understandable nervousness that people have about riding the TTC,” spokesperson Stuart Green told CP24 on Thursday afternoon.

“That is why it is incumbent upon us to do everything we can to make the TTC even safer and to give people that reassurance that we have staff available for them, we have cameras available, we have all these things that are deterrents but also can react in the case of a random attack.”

Green said that TTC CEO Rick Leary has spoken with Police Chief James Ramer in the wake of the latest incident about ways that safety could be improved at Kipling Station.

He said that additional TTC special constables will also be deployed to Kipling Station.

“Unfortunately with random attacks they are by definition just that. They are things that are very difficult to defend against and to plan for but we can do some things and we have extra staff we can deploy to Kippling,” he said.