Achi news desk-
Although police say the attacks at the Lionel-Grol metro station in Montreal’s Saint-Henri neighborhood were likely random, public transportation security problems are not new and some fear it is part of a much larger problem.
Four teenagers were arrested Friday after a 35-year-old homeless man was stabbed in an apparently random attack.
That night, a rider was punched in the face by someone she didn’t know.
The municipality of Montreal condemned the attacks and said that they recently implemented a new intervention model that includes police and social workers patrolling metro stations in order to prevent violence before it occurs.
Welcome Hall Mission CEO Sam Watts said the approach goes so far.
“The reflex we have is to say what are we going to do about this problem,” Watts said. “I think the right reflex is to ask why we have this problem in the first place.”
Watts said the housing situation has gotten worse, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, and people are seeking shelter in the metro.
This is an unsustainable situation, he said.
“As someone who works on the front lines, I think there’s a tendency to point fingers and say it’s so-and-so’s responsibility,” Watts said. “We will have to understand that this is not this person’s problem, it is everyone’s problem.”
