January 27, 2016 by admin

Police search for suspect wanted in attempted robbery on GO train

Toronto police are searching for a suspect wanted in an attempted robbery on a GO train in Scarborough last night.
Police say at around 10:40 p.m., a male was on board a GO train when he attempted to steal a female passenger’s purse.
Although the man was not successful in carrying out the robbery, police say he disrupted service by hitting the emergency brake, prying open one of the doors on the train and fleeing down the tracks near Birchmount Road and Raleigh Avenue.The female victim sustained some scratches to her face but was not seriously injured.
Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said the incident forced GO Transit employees to shut down service along the entire rail corridor for several hours.
“Occasionally people will pull the emergency brake inappropriately but I don’t recall someone committing a crime and then doing that to facilitate escape,” Aikins told reporters.
“The emergency brake is under extreme circumstances where people’s lives are at risk because the train is in trouble of some sort, there is an obstruction on the tracks, something like that.”
She added that those who pull an emergency brake inappropriately can be charged and face a hefty fine.
Aikins said high-quality video surveillance footage will be passed on to police to assist in their investigation.
Police have described the suspect as a black male with a heavy build. He was reportedly carrying a multi-coloured gym bag.