A young Muslim woman is allegedly one of the latest victims of a potential assault after fleeing from a man who pulled a knife on her in a TTC subway station, according to the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).
The organization said that on March 9, a man approached a hijab-wearing woman between Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and Finch West stations. It said the man asked her questions about her religion before pulling out a large knife.
“She ran for her life and escaped,” the organization said in a statement posted Monday.
Read more: Six violent attacks took place in and around the TTC in just five days
“I was just trying to get to Spadina station to meet with some friends. I never thought something like this could happen, on public transit in front of all these people,” the victim, who remains anonymous, said in a statement to NCCM.
She further stated that she ran away until she was out of breath and a stranger helped her, NCCM said.
The organization is publicly urging the police to find the suspect and investigate the incident as a hate-motivated crime.
Toronto police told Now Toronto in an email that they are aware of the incident and are currently investigating, including reviewing TTC camera footage.
“Our Hate Crime unit is also being notified and specialized officers from that unit will support the investigation as needed,” police said.
On Monday, the TTC announced it is scaling back the number of police officers it has within the transit system after deploying more officers in January to address a rise in violence.
