POLICE HAVE arrested a suspect in connection with a woman being set on fire at Kipling subway station. Courtesy CP-24
A young woman waiting for an Etobicoke bus is fighting for her life in hospital after being set on fire in a bizarre attack at the Kipling subway station.
Some quick-thinking TTC users nearby saw the strange incident and rushed to help the woman, who is described as being in her 20s’, who suffered from life threatening or life-altering injuries.
Toronto police say they were called to the Kipling Avenue and Dundas Street West area around 12:30 p.m. on Friday for reports of a woman assaulted.
AREA WAS SEALED off where the victim suffered third degree burns. Courtesy CTV News.
Police said a man poured a liquid substance on the woman and ignited it, leaving her with life-altering injuries. The woman is being treated at Sunnybrook Hospital.
The woman is reported to have suffered third degree burns.
Officers believe the attack was random in nature and the couple may have known each other.
A 35-year-old man was arrested by police. It is unknown at this time what charges he faces.
“It is cause for concern, especially as we’ve stated this is a random attack,” said a police spokesman.
TTC boss Rick Leary says the agency is “shocked by today’s attack at Kipling Station.”
THE SUBWAY and bus service were diverted for some time.
“I know incidents like this are concerning for our customers — and I share that concern,” Leary said in a statement. “We move hundreds of millions of customers every year without incident, but we cannot and do not take that for granted.”
He said the TTC has several safety measures in place including special constables who patrol the system, cameras and emergency alarms in all stations and vehicles as well as the SafeTTC app to report suspicious incidents.
The incident follows last April’s shooting of an international student outside Sherbourne subway station and the pushing of a woman on the tracks at a subway platform at the Bloor-Yonge station. She barely escaped getting hit by a train.