The victim of an alleged gunpoint kidnapping that spurred a police chase through the streets of the Greater Toronto Area on Wednesday jumped out of a moving vehicle to escape his abductor, according to new details later released by police.
Toronto police officers were in the area of Danforth and Warden avenues in Scarborough at around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday as part of an investigation into the Dec. 6 stabbing of an off-duty officer, the service said.
In a police release issued Thursday, it was alleged that, unbeknownst to officers at the time, one of three suspects in the stabbing had just forced his way into a nearby apartment, taken a man at gunpoint, and forced the victim into a stolen U-Haul.
While police initially said Wednesday the abducted individual was brought to safety before the suspect fled in the vehicle, the release revealed that the victim was actually inside the U-Haul when the chase ensued.
Shortly after, police located the suspect in the U-Haul and attempted to stop the vehicle. Police say, however, that the suspect refused to stop and purposely accelerated into two police vehicles.
Police said two officers were struck, with one sustaining minor injuries. The accused then allegedly hit a number of civilian vehicles in an attempt to evade the officers.
Following at a safe distance, police said the accused briefly slowed down to make a turn at Kennedy and Ellesmere roads, when the victim jumped from the vehicle. They did not sustain any injuries.
At that time, multiple police units, including a helicopter belonging to York Regional Police, were dispatched. The helicopter “followed the accused into Durham Region and then back into Toronto.”
