Toronto Police Services are urging the public to come forward with any information they have on the crime. Source: Wikimedia
by Raquelle Collins
A TTC fare collector was robbed at gunpoint at Chester subway station Sunday night.
At around 10:30 p.m., a man walked into Chester station and approached the ticket collector revealing his weapon. He fled the scene quickly after stealing an undisclosed amount of money.
The man was caught on camera wearing a black hooded sweater and a bandana over his face.
The TTC employee was not injured.
This is the third collector booth armed robbery since August.
In a press conference, Toronto Police staff inspector Mike Earl said the police seized video footage of the robbery, which took place in a matter of seconds.
“We believe that the robbery that took place last night at Chester station is connected to the two previous robberies that took place at Chester station on August 6 and at Christie station on August 26,” Earl said.
The suspect has the same mannerisms and matches the description of the August robberies that occurred at Christie and Chester stations. The individual also stole Metropasses and money with a matching semi-automatic handgun and fled the scene without injuring the employees.
Earl added that the robberies are planned out very carefully and the individual will continue to commit these crimes until he is caught.
Toronto Police Service Const. Sarah Diamond told Humber News they don’t have a lead on a suspect and are asking the public to come forward with any information they may have.
“These incidences are very rare but taken very seriously,” Diamond said.
TTC bus driver, Alastair Sutter, has been assaulted on the job.
“I have experienced violence in the workplace. These incidences are very rare and people are mainly angry at the system and not the employees,” Suttar told Humber News.
“The TTC should continue to give their ongoing support and education to their employees. Our safety is paramount and all we can do is try our best to protect ourselves,” Suttar said.
Humber College student Wendy Tate told Humber News that she never feels safe commuting by public transit.
“You never know who is on the same train as you or who is sitting beside you, you can never feel too safe or trust anyone,” Tate said.
There have been five TTC collector booth robberies in 2013.