TORONTO 鈥� A suspect in a hit-and-run that injured five people on Toronto Metropolitan University's downtown campus last month has been arrested and charged with multiple offences including attempted murder, police said Friday.
Police initially said that four people were injured on April 15 when the suspect allegedly drove a vehicle onto a pedestrian walkway, but now say they have since identified a fifth victim who sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The hit-and-run sent two victims to hospital while the other two sustained minor injuries.
The suspect, 23-year-old Ryan Petroff, was stopped by police on Thursday following a road rage incident in the Morningside Avenue and Highway 401 area and subsequently arrested on "numerous" outstanding warrants, investigators said.
Petroff is facing charges that include attempted murder, three counts of dangerous conveyance of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm, two counts of assault with a weapon and possession of property obtained by crime.
Police had previously said that the green Honda involved in the hit-and-run had stolen licence plates.
Petroff is facing a total of 24 charges on outstanding warrants, including sexual assault with a weapon and uttering threats to cause death, police said.
Investigators believe the hit-and-run was targeting a specific person on the TMU pathway called the Nelson Mandela Walk and said the victims were sitting on a bench when the vehicle struck them.
None of the victims were university students or staff, police have said. They believe the suspect and the intended target knew each other, but wouldn't elaborate on the nature of their relationship.
Toronto Metropolitan University said in a statement after the incident that planters have since been placed at the main entrances to Nelson Mandela Walk and noted that barriers "have always been in place" at another pedestrian-only area of the campus, at Victoria and Bond streets.
The university has said that its pedestrian streets, including the Nelson Mandela Walk, are city property and must be accessible to emergency vehicles.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.
Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press
