Suspect in officer stabbing abducted citizen at gunpoint before fleeing in stolen U-Haul: police
Posted December 20, 2023 2:40 pm.
Last Updated December 20, 2023 11:40 pm.
Emergency Task Force (ETF) officers arrested a suspect in the Scarborough stabbing of an off-duty police officer on Wednesday, but not before police say he abducted a citizen at gunpoint and went on a crash-filled escape run in a stolen U-Haul truck.
His bid for freedom came to a dramatic halt when police vehicles crashed into the truck and officers arrested the 49-year-old man near Carlton and Church streets.
Toronto Police Duty Inspector, Maher Abdel-Malik, said investigators first tracked down the suspect in the Danforth and Warden avenues area on Wednesday morning in a stolen U-Haul.
Officers tried to make an arrest, but an altercation ensued and Abdel-Malik said the suspect briefly abducted a citizen at gunpoint before taking off in the U-Haul.
The abducted person managed to get away and wasn’t injured, but Abdel-Malik said some officers suffered minor injuries.
Out of concern for public safety, police decided not to chase the U-Haul at high speeds, instead tracking it safely from a distance. Toronto Police also requested assistance from the York Regional Police helicopter which began tracking the truck from the air.
Police say the truck was involved in several minor crashes as it drove through parts of Durham Region and Toronto., resulting in damage and minor injuries.
Investigators confirm the U-Haul caused a three-vehicle crash on Adelaide, west of Spadina that involved an ETF vehicle, an SUV and a Beck taxi.
When the vehicle approached the Carlton and Church streets area, Abdel-Malik said officers decided it was their best chance to make an arrest — and they pulled it off without any serious injuries.
“The result could have been catastrophic considering it’s a person armed with a firearm but it turned out to be great,” he said.
Abdel-Malik said the man arrested was one of four suspects in the stabbing of an off-duty officer who tried to stop a robbery at a Best Buy store in Scarborough a few weeks ago.
The officer suffered serious injuries after he was stabbed in the wrist while trying to intervene during the robbery at the Best Buy at 480 Progress Avenue on the morning of Wednesday, December 6.
Police said the suspects tried to walk out of the store without paying for a high-end TV, prompting the officer to get involved.
With files from Lucas Casaletto
