Junlan Li, 29, told CBC Toronto on Monday that it happened while she was doing something many people do every day in the city: She was waiting for the lights to change at the northwest corner of Yonge and College streets when someone randomly attacked her at 3:15 a.m. Sunday. pm “I was on my way to the grocery store, just minding my own business, standing in the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn. And then, as the traffic was going behind me, somebody rear-ended me,” he said. Lee has reported the attack to the police and posted about it on Reddit. She said she looked at the person she thought was her attacker, who was standing behind her, but he seemed unconcerned. Then a man coming from the other direction stopped her and said: “That guy pierced you. Are you okay? Did you get anything?” Lee checked her purse, pockets and coat and saw nothing wrong. She thanked the man who tipped her off, whom she called a Good Samaritan, and then continued on her way. Halfway through the next block, she realized her back was hurting. “It was just on fire. And then, I reached back, felt on my back, and realized I got a pin in my lower back right where I was stabbed.”
“Random attacks happen”
She said she turned right and went to the nearest hospital, and after waiting about five hours in the emergency room, she was told she had a puncture wound in her back and a suspected needlestick. The doctor ran blood tests and gave a list of things to do, including going to an infectious disease clinic, monitoring her symptoms, and calling if the pain worsened. He has a clinic appointment on Tuesday. In her Reddit post, which has generated more than 480 comments, she said she may need to take post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV. After an hour in the ER, she called the Toronto police non-emergency line. She waited to report the incident because she wanted to take care of herself first. It took an hour and a half before he could speak to an officer. Now, she wants other Torontonians to know what happened to her. “It’s something you never expect to happen, right? The fact that it happened was just a weird moment for me,” he said. “I’m trained as a statistician and these things happen, right? Random. Random attacks happen and I don’t want to scare anyone, but at the same time, you know it doesn’t hurt to be vigilant. Watch out for each other.” Lee also urges everyone to make sure their tetanus and hepatitis B vaccines are up to date. And she is grateful to the man who told her what happened. Police told her that if they arrested the suspect, the charge would be assault with a weapon. Const. Cindy Chung, spokeswoman for the Toronto Police Service, said in an email Monday that investigators are still reviewing the surveillance video. “This is not a common occurrence. If this happens to someone, I would recommend that they report the incident to the police and follow up with the hospital and complete any tests that are recommended to ensure their health and safety,” Chung said . According to Lee, it is a random act of violence. “As much as we don’t like to think it happens, sometimes it does,” he said. “And it turns out this time, I was just the victim. And for me, I was lucky that someone stopped and told me. And I was able to get emergency treatment in time,” she added. And he has a message for everyone. “Be careful, right? And check.”
