‘The scariest moment of my life’: Toronto subway stabbing victim recounts violent incident

WARNING: The following article includes graphic details which may be upsetting to some. Discretion is advised.

A 37-year-old man stabbed several times during a brazen attack on a Toronto subway earlier this month says the incident was the ‘scariest moment’ of his life.

Speaking with Global News for the first time on camera since the attack, Derek Dyckhoff recounts the chaos that happened on July 6, just after noon. He was was discharged from Sunnybrook Hospital’s trauma unit on Friday, after a lengthy stay.

Dyckhoff said he was headed to Woodbine Beach for the day, and was sitting on a southbound subway train between Eglinton and Lawrence stations when the incident began.

According to Dyckhoff, a man got onto the subway train playing rap music loudly.

“I felt like he was targeting me. As soon as he got on the train. He looked over at me, then he walked right over and sat right behind me,” Dyckhoff said.

“I mean, no one’s going to appreciate that kind of music being blasted in their ear, especially sitting on the train.”

Dyckhoff said he asked the man to turn down his music, but was ignored. What followed was a verbal altercation which ultimately turned physical.

During the fight, Dyckhoff claims he saw the man reach for his pocket. This is when Dyckhoff said he began punching the man.

Sometime during the fight, Dyckhoff said the man reached into his pocket again, this time producing a knife.

Dyckhoff said the man stabbed him several times, slicing and disabling his right hand, stabbing him in the ribs, shoulder and in the chest.

He said he ran from the suspect, calling for help and trying to get to the driver’s cabin.

“My only hope, I thought, was to run to the driver,” Dyckhoff said. “Hopefully he’d let me in the booth, but he didn’t open up.”

According to Dyckhoff, no one tried to help him, except one man.

“But (the man) was just saying ‘I don’t know what to do.’ And I’m like, ‘Put pressure on my wounds,’ because I just saw blood pouring.”

Dyckhoff said he took his own shirt off so the man could use it to put pressure on the cuts.

“I just kept trying to instruct him how to put pressure on my wounds and just saying ‘push harder, push harder,’ and then I just got so dehydrated I just went over on my side and just begged for water,” he said. “I think someone poured some Aquafina on my tongue.”

Dyckhoff added he’s disappointed that no one tried to help him, but said that’s “expected” for Toronto.

Serious injuries

Dyckhoff spent the next four days in the intensive care unit before he was transferred to the trauma unit. During his stay he received several surgeries and treatments.

It’s not clear how many times he was stabbed, but Dyckhoff said the incident caused serious internal injuries.

On top of two punctured lungs, Dyckhoff said he also had to have his spleen removed. His colon was also severed during the incident.

“There are two stab wounds in my chest, but they’re very shallow, thankfully,” he said, adding that he was also stabbed in one of his shoulders.

Despite the severity of his injuries, Dyckhoff said he remembers the whole incident, and was cognizant of what was happening the whole time.

He also remembers seeing the knife.

“When I saw it, it was definitely the scariest moment of my life,” he said. “There’s no doubt, when I saw the knife, I’m like ‘Well this is it, this is terrible.”

After he was stabbed, Dyckhoff said he remembers how difficult it was to breathe.

“When I was laying on that subway floor, every breath was like the hardest task, I just wanted to quit. And I almost thought maybe I just should give up right now because this is really hard,” he said,

“And then I kind of had my life flash before my eyes, and I wasn’t really satisfied with it, so I’m like, no, I gotta stick around.”

Other riders on the subway train recorded the incident in video that circulated widely on social media.

Dyckhoff claims the suspect walked back to where the incident began, took his backpack and walked off the train once it pulled into the station.

Toronto police have charged a 25-year-old man of no fixed address in connection with the incident.

A long road to recovery

According to Dyckhoff, his biggest concern is regaining full use of his right arm.

He has more surgeries scheduled to try to repair the nerve damage caused by the incident.

Dyckhoff said he’s also experiencing severe pain in his abdomen, where staples were recently removed during one of his surgeries.

“I don’t have all the answers yet,” he said. “But it seems like it’s gonna be quite a bit (of time).”

A GoFundMe has been set up by a family friend to help with Dyckhoff’s recovery.

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