Two TTC employees were assaulted on a bus in Scarborough on Monday afternoon in what the TTC described as a “scornful swarm”-style attack.
The alleged assault happened near Kennedy and Marion roads around 3:35 p.m
Police said there were reports that a group of 10 to 15 youths attacked the uniformed men on the bus before fleeing the area.
No suspect descriptions have been published so far.
“There were two on-duty TTC operators who were on their way to an aid station to pick up their vehicle and leave for their shift and were attacked by what police described as a group of 10 to 15 people,” the TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told CP24. “We are currently working with the police to retrieve video footage and provide them with any evidence we can as they investigate this abhorrent act.” This is absolutely inexcusable.”
Green said the victims were treated at the scene by paramedics but did not require hospitalization.
He said the bus operator was not physically injured but was “emotionally affected” by the incident.
“They are shaken. It’s understandable. They’re shaken up and so is the bus operator,” he said, noting that the TTC will provide employees with various types of support.
Police have not yet released any details about what led up to the reported attack.
Mayor John Tory commented on the reported incident on Monday, urging anyone with information to contact police, while expressing great concern “about the increasing number of criminal acts involving young people”.
“I strongly believe this is something all governments need to work together to tackle as a matter of urgency with social and mental health experts,” Tory said in a tweet on Monday night.
Toronto police are investigating a report that uniformed TTC employees on a bus were attacked by a group of 10-15 youths.
We must end these acts of violence and disrespect for transit workers. pic.twitter.com/nFGUMBmDkA
— John Tory (@JohnTory) January 23, 2023
City councilor and TTC chairman John Burnside said he was “appalled” after hearing about the alleged assault this afternoon.
“Cameras on the bus will assist Toronto Police in investigating the incident and identifying the assailants,” Burnside tweeted. “My thoughts are with the staff as well as the passengers who witnessed this shocking, reprehensible behaviour.”
The incident comes just days after a TTC bus operator was shot with a BB gun while taking over a bus in the area of Markham Road and Progress Avenue. The employee was not injured as a result of the incident.
Last month, a TTC operator was also attacked and robbed by a masked man while on duty on the Long Branch Loop in Etobicoke. That incident prompted the union representing TTC workers to speak out and call on the TTC to “do more to prevent all forms of violence against transit workers.”
“Any violent attack on a worker at his workplace is a tragedy. The fact that they are happening again and again is a disaster,” the union said in a statement to CP24.com at the time.
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