Post by skullion on Feb 14, 2009 0:19:04 GMT -5
This was taken from the CITY TV news website in Toronto.
A bizarre and truly frightening incident created chaos on the Bloor-Danforth subway line Friday afternoon and left police shaking their heads about the motive behind an unthinkable crime.
A man is accused of walking up to two teenagers at the Dufferin Station and shoving them onto the tracks at the height of rush hour. It happened on the eastbound platform around 4:30pm.
It's still not quite clear what happened after the pair went over the edge. Both of the victims are about 14 years of age, and one was actually hit by a train, suffering injuries to his foot. He ended up underneath the heavy vehicle for a time before being extricated. He's said to be in serious condition at the Hospital for Sick Children (top left.)
His friend is expected to be O.K.
While some were trying to rescue the youths, others were chasing after the suspect after he allegedly made a dramatic bid to get away. A TTC employee held the man for a time, wrestling with the suspect at the bottom of a stairwell as he tried to escape the scene.
At some point, he succeeded and disappeared up the stairs. Several people followed him, staying on the phone with police as they tracked him down the street.
Tom Billings was one of the heroes who kept the suspect in his sights. "He was fighting with a TTC guy and then he got on top of him and was able to escape," he recalls. "When the TTC guy came up he said to everyone that was around that he had [allegedly] just pushed two kids onto the tracks.
"And when I heard that, me and the TTC guy and a few other people came here and followed him down to the Dufferin Mall. And just followed him until the police were able to respond."
They're questioning the man at 14 Division about his possible motives, and have revealed what may be the most disturbing part of the incident. The suspect is a total stranger and the act appears to have been totally random and without provocation. It's not known what his alleged motive may have been but authorities say the man may have mental health issues. Either way the 47-year-old suspect has been charged with three counts of attempted murder.
The result of the incident was commuter chaos. Dufferin Station was taped off as a crime scene for more than 90 minutes, as trains stopped between Keele and Ossington Stations. The TTC rolled out shuttle buses, but they were quickly jammed with frustrated commuters and tempers flared at the overcrowded Keele terminal. Things gradually returned to normal when full service resume at 6:03pm.
A bizarre and truly frightening incident created chaos on the Bloor-Danforth subway line Friday afternoon and left police shaking their heads about the motive behind an unthinkable crime.
A man is accused of walking up to two teenagers at the Dufferin Station and shoving them onto the tracks at the height of rush hour. It happened on the eastbound platform around 4:30pm.
It's still not quite clear what happened after the pair went over the edge. Both of the victims are about 14 years of age, and one was actually hit by a train, suffering injuries to his foot. He ended up underneath the heavy vehicle for a time before being extricated. He's said to be in serious condition at the Hospital for Sick Children (top left.)
His friend is expected to be O.K.
While some were trying to rescue the youths, others were chasing after the suspect after he allegedly made a dramatic bid to get away. A TTC employee held the man for a time, wrestling with the suspect at the bottom of a stairwell as he tried to escape the scene.
At some point, he succeeded and disappeared up the stairs. Several people followed him, staying on the phone with police as they tracked him down the street.
Tom Billings was one of the heroes who kept the suspect in his sights. "He was fighting with a TTC guy and then he got on top of him and was able to escape," he recalls. "When the TTC guy came up he said to everyone that was around that he had [allegedly] just pushed two kids onto the tracks.
"And when I heard that, me and the TTC guy and a few other people came here and followed him down to the Dufferin Mall. And just followed him until the police were able to respond."
They're questioning the man at 14 Division about his possible motives, and have revealed what may be the most disturbing part of the incident. The suspect is a total stranger and the act appears to have been totally random and without provocation. It's not known what his alleged motive may have been but authorities say the man may have mental health issues. Either way the 47-year-old suspect has been charged with three counts of attempted murder.
The result of the incident was commuter chaos. Dufferin Station was taped off as a crime scene for more than 90 minutes, as trains stopped between Keele and Ossington Stations. The TTC rolled out shuttle buses, but they were quickly jammed with frustrated commuters and tempers flared at the overcrowded Keele terminal. Things gradually returned to normal when full service resume at 6:03pm.
