Woman Stabbed in Neck at Calgary LRT Station, Days After Mayor Highlights Transit Safety Progress

A man waits for transit in Calgary in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh

Calgary police are investigating after a woman was stabbed in the neck near a downtown Calgary Light Rail Transit (LRT) station, closing the Ctrain temporarily, just days after the city’s mayor held a press conference to announce progress in addressing transit security concerns.

According to police, the incident occurred downtown at approximately 6:30 a.m. on June 13 at the 8th Street S.W. Station. Police told CTV News the victim, in her 30s, had called 911 saying she had been stabbed.

She was transported to Foothills Medical Centre in serious but stable condition, with police stating she had two stab wounds to her neck. Police believe she was attacked in Century Gardens, then boarded an eastbound Ctrain. Paramedics provided care to the woman when it was stopped at the Third Street S.W. Station.

“Although the investigation is in its early stages, it’s believed the assault occurred at another scene at a nearby park and that the victim made her way to the 8th Street station, where she boarded a train and then collapsed,” the Calgary Police Service said in a written statement to Postmedia.

The Eighth Street Station next to Century Gardens was closed temporarily during the investigation, with Ctrains skipping that stop. Calgary Transit issued a notice on June 13 at 8:29 a.m. local time stating that the station was “closed until further notice due to Calgary Police Services matter.”

Transit users were advised to use the Sixth Street station to catch their train.

Transit Safety

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek was on a CTrain ride-along on June 8, accompanied by media and police officers, to boast progress on the city’s transit safety initiatives. The mayor held a press conference with transit and police officials, stating that new signs prominently display a text phone number for the new Transit Watch program. Riders are invited to text if they see issues on transit.

“Council made an initial investment of $32 million last summer and [an] additional $33 million was invested in the four-year budget strategy for this year alone. And we continue to forward fund … as we need to make sure that we are creating a safe environment for transit users,” the mayor told reporters.

“Calgarians feel like they can report things that they’re seeing; we can dispatch it to the appropriate party. And I can tell you that our partner organizations are very happy to receive those referrals and the calls,” Gondek said.

The latest incident on June 13 is one of a recent string of stabbings on Calgary’s transit system.

On May 19, a male victim was attacked while on a Calgary bus near McKenzie Towne Link S.E. He was taken to the hospital with stab wounds, in serious, but not life-threatening condition.

In another incident that made the news, a man and a teenage male got into a dispute on April 13 over loud music on a Calgary transit bus, according to police. The man suffered minor injuries in the confrontation.

The same day, police said there was a random assault on the Martindale LRT platform in the city’s northeast. A male victim was attacked, but police did not indicate the severity of his injuries.

Police were searching for three suspects and had one in custody after a stabbing on May 5 at the Eight Street SW Ctrain station in downtown Calgary. A male victim suffered stab wounds and was transported to hospital, after what police described as a fight between five people known to each other.

Calgary Police announced on May 11 that they had laid charges against a male suspect in relation to a stabbing the day prior at Marlborough Ctrain station in the city’s northeast. They said at the time that the victim was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition but had been upgraded to serious but stable. Police arrested a suspect who was found leaving the station on foot.