16-year-old stabbed at TTC station dies from injuries

Gabriel Magalhaes, a 16-year-old from Toronto, has died after being stabbed in a TTC subway station on Saturday night. It’s the latest shocking attack that’s become an alarming trend in Toronto’s public transit system.

According to Toronto Police, Magalhaes was stabbed just before 9 pm, while sitting on a bench on the lower level of Keele subway station.

The alleged suspect, a 22-year-old man experiencing homelessness identified as Jordan O’Brien-Tobin, approached Magalhaes and stabbed him in what is said to be an unprovoked attack.

The suspect and victim are said not to have known each other.

Magalhaes was transported to hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

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O’Brien-Tobin has been charged by Toronto Police with first-degree murder and was scheduled to appear in court earlier on Sunday.

This latest unprovoked attack will likely cause more transit riders to be on edge as they navigate the city’s subways and buses. Some of the recent attacks on the TTC include:

• A woman was slashed on the face after a verbal dispute at Spadina subway station.
• A man was stabbed in the face with a broken bottle while riding the subway near Chester station.
• A 16-year-old was stabbed on a TTC bus near Old Mill station.
• A woman was stabbed while riding the Spadina streetcar.
• A man was pepper sprayed in the face while on the subway near Donlands station.
• A woman died after being set on fire at Kipling subway station.

The sheer number of attacks on the TTC is causing some commuters to change their modes of transport and opt for cars, Ubers, cycling or walking instead.

Self-defence courses have also popped up that are offering lessons specific to enclosed-transit-like settings.