A 16-year-old male died after being stabbed at a Toronto subway station, seemingly at random, in what is just the latest act of unexplained violence in Toronto in recent months.
Gabriel Magalhaes, 16, was stabbed just before 9 pm at Keele subway station in the 12th homicide in Toronto so far this year and the latest random act of violence aboard Toronto’s metro system, known as the TTC.
Police in Toronto have since arrested 22-year-old Jordan O’Brien-Tobin in connection with the fatal stabbing, with the homeless man now facing charges of first-degree murder, broadcaster CBC reports.
Toronto’s Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie commented on the seemingly random killing saying “The TTC has to be a safe place for all riders and transit workers — we can accept nothing less.”
TORONTO, ON – March 27 – A picture is among the items left at a memorial outside Keele subway station in Toronto. The TTC station was the site of a stabbing that took place over the weekend, which resulted in a 16-year-old boy being killed. (Photo: Lance McMillan/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
“I support the work the TTC, Toronto police and city staff are doing to implement additional safety measures funded by Toronto City Council in the 2023 budget including the hiring of 50 new special constables,” she added.
The murder is just the latest act of extreme violence on the TTC, with a report published in February revealing that there were 1,068 violent attacks on passengers in 2022, with 245 taking place in the month of December alone. In 2021, by contrast, there were 734 incidents.
Among the violent attacks have been several high-profile incidents, including a woman who was set on fire on a bus at Toronto’s Kipling station in June of last year. Police said at the time the attack was likely motivated by “hate” and was random. The victim suffered second and third-degree burns as a result of the attack, with 33-year-old Tenzin Norbu arrested for attempted murder.
Another random attack that took place in January of this year saw a woman stabbed several times in the head and face on a TTC streetcar in downtown Toronto, by the area of Spadina and Sussex avenues. Police, again, stated the attack was likely random and that neither the victim nor the attacker, allegedly a woman in her 40s, knew each other prior.
Canada’s sky-high costs of living, including a runaway housing market, have led to Toronto seeing as many as 18,000 people living on the streets on any given night, and a report claimed that last year 187 homeless people died while out on the streets of Canada’s largest city.
In late December one homeless man, 59-year-old Ken Lee, was “swarmed” by a group of teenage girls at random in downtown Toronto, with the teens stabbing him to death when he tried to stop them stealing alcohol from one of his friends. The teens had allegedly met on social media prior to the random attack and had come from various parts of the city.
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.
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