TTC riders left with safety concerns after woman set on fire in shocking attack

A woman remains in serious but stable condition after she was lit on fire in what police called a random attack at Kipling Station on Friday.

The shocking incident is the latest in a string of brazen violence that has occurred at TTC stations in recent months, prompting concerns from riders and calls for officials to implement more safety measures.

“Very devastating knowing that happened,” says one rider. “This can’t be happening in our city.”

Another rider told CityNews she is reevaluating her use of public transit, saying she will consider walking more often when it is possible.

Mayor John Tory says he is working closely with Toronto police and with the TTC in the wake of the incident to find ways to improve safety for riders.

“We’re going to again look at every measure that we can possibly take to have a greater presence of police,” said Tory on Saturday. “The TTC is very safe but we can always try to make it safer.”

“Some of these kinds of random acts are difficult to prevent.”

Toronto police are advising the public to report any dangerous incident and immediately leave an area if they think there could be a risk of violence.

“We’re advising people that anytime they see anything in the public that they think is a concern — they contact police immediately,” says Toronto Police Const. Ed Parks.

“Anytime any altercations occur, the easiest thing to do is to maintain distance and to start backing away. That’s always the easiest way to prevent the continuation of an offence.”

Police have not determined a motive in Friday’s attack but say they are not ruling out anything, including the possibility of a hate crime.

Tory said he spoke with TTC CEO Rick Leary and Toronto Police Chief James Ramer following the incident and both assured him no stone will be left unturned in the investigation.

TTC says there will be more constables at stations moving forward

The TTC tells CityNews they will be putting more constables in stations but did not offer a timeline as to when that would occur.

“I know incidents like this are concerning for our customers — and I share that concern,” said Leary in a statement on Friday. “Safety is paramount to all we do and I am committed to ensuring the TTC remains as safe as possible.”

Leary says several additional safety measures are already in place that should quell any fear some riders may have.

“We have the designated waiting areas in our subway stations, we have additional cameras in the subway stations, emergency alarms,” says Leary. “There’s a TTC app that directly connects to our control system.”

Both the TTC and the mayor previously vowed to increase the number of patrols by officers after a string of violent incidents at subway stations in April.

A woman was pushed onto the subway tracks at Bloor-Yonge station on April 17, suffering a broken rib and narrowly escaping getting struck by a train.

Toronto police were searching for another suspect who allegedly robbed a victim after putting them in a chokehold and knocking them unconscious at Pioneer Village station.

With files from Maleeha Sheikh and Michelle Morton