Police identify woman killed in random double stabbing on Toronto subway train - Action News
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Police identify woman killed in random double stabbing on Toronto subway train

Toronto police have identified a woman who died after Thursday's double stabbing on a subway train.A Toronto man is now facing two charges inconnection withthe attack, according to police.

Toronto man charged with 1st-degree murder, attempted murder

Man charged after fatal stabbing on Toronto subway

2 years ago
Duration 2:35
A 52-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder, after the stabbing of two women on a TTC subway the latest attack in the Toronto transit system.

Toronto police have identified a woman who died after Thursday's double stabbing on a subway train.A Toronto man is now facing two charges inconnection withthe attack, according to police.

Toronto woman Vanessa Kurpiewska, 31,died after she was stabbed shortly after 2 p.m., investigators say.

A 37-year-old womanwho was also injured in the attackwas treated for non-life-threatening injuries and later released from hospital, police said in a news release Friday.

Police were called to High Parkstation for reports ofa person allegedly assaulting and stabbing people. A man was arrested at the scene.

Toronto police say Vanessa Kurpiewska, 31, of Toronto, died after she was stabbed on a subway train at High Park station shortly after 2 p.m. on Thursday. (Toronto Police Service handout)

Police sayNeng Jia Jin, 52, has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

The accused and the victims did not knoweach other, police say.

Jin made a brief court appearance at Old City Hall courthouse on Friday where he was read a list of names of people he cannot contact. The court also placeda publication ban on the names on that list.

Jin will remain in custodyuntil his next court appearance on Dec. 14.

Multiple violent attackson TTC property

Thursday's attack was the latestin a string of violent incidents on Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) property this year.

In April,a woman was injured when she was pushed onto the subway tracks at Bloor-Yonge station. She survivedbypressing herself against the subway platform to avoid being hit by an oncoming train.

The womanis now suing theTTCfor $1 million.

Just days before that incident, a man was rushed to hospital after he was stabbed on the platform at St. George station. Police have made arrests in both cases.

Then in June, a 27-year-oldwoman was attacked on a TTC bus whena man poured a liquid substance on herand ignited it.She was rushed to Sunnybrook Hospital where she later died.

A 33-year-old man was later arrested andcharged with first-degree murder.

More staff and police to be assigned to TTC

Toronto Mayor John Tory described Thursday's attack as shocking, and said people can expect to the a greater police presence on the TTC.

"We can never accept acts of violence of this kind happening anywhere in our city," Tory said on Twitter.

"My thoughts are with the family and friends of the woman who has lost her life.

"We will simply have to sit down again with the TTC and police officials to see what more we can do to ensure the safety of TTC passengers beyond the many measures the TTC has put in place," Tory added.

subway attack
TTC passengers gather outside Yonge-Bloor station on April 17, 2022, after a woman was pushed onto subway tracks. (CBC)

Meanwhile, TTC CEO Rick Leary said the transit agency would add more special constables and uniformed staff to the subway system, starting on Thursday, in response to the stabbing.

"The TTC moves hundreds of millions of customers every year without incident, but is constantly looking at ways to improve safety," he said.

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113, which represents nearly 12,000 TTC employees, called Thursday's attack "senseless."

"ATU Local 113, along with the citizens of Toronto, are outraged at these repeated acts of violence on public transit, and demand that the City of Toronto and the TTC take transit safety seriously and now act with urgency," the union said in a statement on Twitter.

"Waiting is not an option."

With files from Jean-Philippe Nadeau and CBC News