The mayor of Edmonton had a report of a 78-year-old woman being pushed off the LRT platform on the train tracks on Monday night, and he asked the province for help to make the system safer.
“I really sympathized with her, with her family,” Amarjit Sohi told CTV News Edmonton.
“You don’t want to have such a horrible experience on our public property, especially public transport… This really scares people in the transport system.”
Sharda Devi, the eldest who was attacked, was still in hospital on Wednesday, and her brother explained that her injured leg may need to be amputated.
“I appreciate what the cops did. I’m really grateful for their efforts to find the man,” Ram Mudallier said.
Police revealed on Wednesday afternoon that the suspect was arrested by peacekeepers on Tuesday at 3pm at Churchill LRT station.
They identify him as 20-year-old Kendall Raine. He faces serious charges of assault for the attack on Devi.
Raine was also accused of assaulting a gun after allegedly threatening a 53-year-old man at Churchill Station.
“Transit peace officials identified Raine as the man responsible for the attack on the 78-year-old woman at the Jubilee LRT station the night before,” the sergeant said. Daniel Thames wrote in a statement.
“As a result, they contacted the police and Raine was detained for both incidents.
“THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT COMMON”
A spokesman for the local transit union said he could not remember the last time someone was pushed onto the LRT rails in Edmonton. However, he would welcome more security.
“This is definitely not common. Whoever performed this event looks like a one-off,” said Steve Bradshaw of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 569.
“Do we need more peace officers there?” Of course. We need more of them. All these things take away the budget and the city council must pay attention. “
More peacekeepers and outreach workers dedicated to transit security were announced in February under a new $ 3.9 million security plan. This strategy will add six more staff.
Two of these officers will patrol stations, which Sohi said would help improve the system, but he believes the root causes of crime in and around transit centers are complex and require more help from the provincial government.
“Most of the challenges we face in public transport stem from the fact that we do not invest enough in supportive housing, we do not have a sufficient support system for mental health problems and we do not have a sufficient support system for people with addictions.” he said.
“These are the responsibilities of the province. They need to be strengthened.”
Earlier this month, it was announced that Edmonton would receive a total of $ 67 million from both Alberta and the federal government to cover the transit shortage caused by the pandemic.
With files from Alison McKinnon of CTV News from Edmonton
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