Boy, 16, seriously injured in stabbing on TTC bus, police say

A 16-year-old boy was stabbedon a Toronto bus Wednesday afternoon and sent to hospital with serious injuries, policesay.

Toronto police say they received reports a person was stabbed just before 4 p.m. aroundBloor Street West and Old Mill Trail.

Duty Insp. Lori Kranenburg told reportersat the scene the stabbing took place on a bus at Old Mill subway station around 4 p.m.She saidupon arrival officers found a youth with stab wounds to his torso and legs.

Kranenburg also said there's currentlynoindication the victim and suspect knew each other.

Police say the suspect is described as a person in their 20s of medium build, wearing a blue mask and black jacket with their hood up.

The suspect waslast seen headingeastbound on Bloor Street West, they say.

Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators.

Stabbing latest amid rashof violent incidents on TTC

The stabbing comes after Toronto Mayor John Torycalled for a national summit to tackle the mental health crisis that may be connected to the recent uptick of violence on the city's transit system.

The stabbing is the fourth case of violence in five days on the city's transit system. In the past five days, police reported separateincidents involving harassment and assault against TTC employees, and a residentstabbed several times while on a streetcar.

Earlier in the day, a person was arrested after allegedly chasing two TTC workers with a syringe.

In a statement on Twitter, the Toronto Transit Commission says it has no further information at this time on Wednesday'sstabbing and its thoughts are with the victim.

"As always, we'll give police our full support as they investigate, including video and witness statements," the statement
reads.

Cities outsideToronto are also witnessingan increase of violence on their transit systems. The Amalgamated Transit UnionCanada,representing35,000 transit workers, called for a national task forceto tackleviolence against workers and riders on public transit systems across the country.