The abduction of a woman in broad daylight at the University of Toronto has cast a shadow of doubt over the effectiveness of the university’s security measures.
At approximately 11:40 am on Friday November 4, a parking control officer heard a woman cry for help in an underground parking garage at 107 St. George St. beside Rotman School of Business.
“She heard frantic screams, a woman shouting ‘Help me, help me,’ and then saw the woman being forced into the back — not the trunk, but the back seat — of a car,” said 52 Division lead investigator Detective Paul Ward in an interview with Inside Toronto.
The witness ran towards the scene only to see a black or blue four-door sedan speeding away with the victim inside, Ward added.
Another witness surfaced Monday after a surveillance photo of her (the witness) entering the garage was circulated by the police. According to Constable Tony Vella, the woman, a non-U of T student, confirmed seeing the altercation.
The witnesses described that the victim is possibly a female of Asian descent with straight, shoulder-length hair.
The parking lot’s video surveillance is being examined by police to identify the car and its owner.
“We are working on trying to get the plate number to the media … and trying to enhance it as we speak,” said Ward, mentioning that he has yet to get through a “mountain of files” from the Ministry of Transportation.
Little else is known about the mysterious disappearance but a U of T press release stated that the abduction was an “isolated incident” according to the police. “They have no reason to think that any predator is hiding within the parking lots or other university property,” the release indicated.
In response to the safety concerns spreading across campus, the university has also reportedly ramped up security in its parking facilities.
“One of the things that we’ve done is to increase the patrols of garage and parking lots around campus,” said Michael Kurts, Assistant Vice-President of U of T strategic communications and marketing department.
These extra safety measures aren’t visible, however, in Rotman’s sparsely patrolled parking lot, according to some students.
“I have certainly not seen them beef up security,” said Kate Rootman, a Rotman student who parks in the garage daily. “It hits close to home, and I’m scared especially since I spend so much time here. Even my husband says he’s going to buy me some mace and told me to walk with someone when going to the car.” Asked about the exact precautions they’ve put in place, Kurts replied that he’s not at liberty to get into specifics, mindful that it might jeopardize the added security’s effectiveness.
On the other hand, he added that the university has provided information to St. George students, campus groups and residences, warning them about the incident.
“Once we understood what had happened, we wanted to ensure we got information out as quickly as possible,” he said.
However, some remarked that the university-wide release issued Saturday was sent out too late.
“I understand that they don’t want to spread hysteria but it would’ve been nice to be informed about it on the day of [the incident],” said Ryan Shupak, another Rotman student present in the building during the incident.
To discover the identity of the victim, a mandatory roll-call for Rotman students is currently in order. Students are expected to email, confirming their presence on campus.
“We were asked to do a roll-call on Monday [but] I’m curious as to why it took that long to do a roll call,” Rootman wondered.
Kurts was unable to confirm if similar incidents have occurred in U of T’s recent history.
