'MAY HAVE BEEN INTENTIONAL': 4 injured after being struck by vehicle at TMU campus

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Four pedestrians were injured after being struck by a vehicle on the Nelson Mandela Walk at Toronto Metropolitan University’s downtown campus Tuesday in an incident that Toronto Police believe may have been intentional.

Cops said the collision happened just before 2 p.m. in the Gerrard St. E.-Yonge St. area. Police believe it was an intentional targeted attack on one specific person by the driver of the car.

Two people were taken to hospital, one of whom was in serious condition, police said.

The suspect vehicle didn’t remain at the scene of the pedestrian-only route.

“It’s still early in this investigation but at the time it appears it may have been an intentional targeting of a specific individual on the walkway,” Toronto Duty Insp. Todd Jocko told reporters at the scene later Tuesday afternoon. “However, at this stage, it appears to be an isolated incident. I can’t confirm their relationship. I can say it appears to be parties that are known to each other. I can also confirm that none of the injured individuals are students or staff here at the university.”

Jocko said of the four injured, two declined medical attention and were able to walk away from the scene.

He also said of the two injured at the hospital, neither was the target of the person driving the vehicle.

“They appear to be bystanders,” he said.

The suspect vehicle has been described as a dark green sedan with a cracked windshield and licence plate number DEDZ565 and was last seen heading eastbound on Gould St. towards Church St.

Jocko couldn’t confirm if the driver of the suspect vehicle or the person being targeted were men or women as police continue to investigate.

​“We understand that an incident like this raises a lot of concerns for people,” he said. “We want to assure the public that we are actively investigating and taking all necessary steps to ensure public safety. We are actively looking for the suspect and the vehicle.”

Jocko said police were reviewing any available surveillance video and wanted to speak to any witnesses who hadn’t come forward yet.

Toronto Centre city councillor Chris Moise said when he heard about the car attack he was brought back to the 2018 van attack that killed 10 people — eight of whom were women — and injured 16 people on Yonge St. in North York.

“I was actually present and witnessed what happened,” Moise told reporters at the scene. “And I know how traumatic that was at that time and even until today. So when I actually heard of this, this afternoon, it took me back to that period of time.”

Jocko was asked how a car attack could happen on a pedestrian-only walkway in Toronto.

“Obviously, it’s a concern,” he said. “Anytime something like this happens we need to look at the circumstances and prevent that. That’s something we’ll certainly have to look into.”

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