Homicide detectives have charged a man with first-degree murder in the death of a man they believe was pushed onto the subway tracks at Bloor-Yonge station Monday.

Police said the victim was a man in his 50s or 60s.

According to Toronto homicide Det. Rob North, the victim was on the eastbound platform at about 10:15 a.m. before he was pushed onto the tracks as the train entered the station.

In a news release, police said the victim was injured on the tracks and taken to hospital, where he later died.

Police charged a 57-year-old man with first-degree murder, North said Monday night, adding the man was scheduled to appear in court at College Park on Tuesday morning.

North told CP24 the man was “murdered viciously, pushed in front of a train.” He appealed for witnesses to come forward and noted police have not yet identified the victim, who he described as an Asian man with white hair, wearing a white baseball cap, shorts and blue sneakers.

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One witness described the incident as “really distressing.” The TTC assured riders that such incidents, however frightening, are “incredibly rare.”

It has been more than 20 years since someone was pushed off a Toronto subway platform and killed, according to the TTC, though there have been more recent non-fatal cases.

North said there was a brief encounter between the two men before Monday’s incident occured, but declined to provide details about the exact nature of the encounter.

“Based on what we’ve seen so far, the push happened very quickly, and there was none to very limited interaction between our deceased and our accused,” North said.

At the time of Monday’s incident, there were about 50 people in the station, but TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said the platform was not busy.

Police said the victim was standing at the far end of the platform when the train was halfway into the station.

“What we believe happened is our victim exits the platform area of the subway station, is proceeding to walk forward to the train, there’s some sort of interaction, and our victim ends up being hit by the train,” North said earlier Monday.

Toronto police are asking witnesses to come forward after a man was allegedly pushed in front of a train at a Toronto subway station Monday. John Reszetnik, 57, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the incident. (The Canadian Press)

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Commuter Carol Auld was on the platform when the incident occurred. She described seeing a blur and hearing the sound of the train hitting the man’s body. The power on the train subsequently went out.

“They’ve got to have more security in TTC stations,” Auld said in an interview. “They’ve got to have people trained to watch out for this.”

“It’s just really distressing. I don’t want to ride the subway anymore.”

The subway station was reopened around 4:30 p.m. after being closed for several hours so police could investigate.

The TTC said in a statement it “joins all Torontonians in mourning this loss of life.

“While still under investigation, incidents of this nature are incredibly rare on the TTC. But the TTC will learn from this tragedy and will review any measures that could further reduce the chances of it happening again.”

The last fatal incident was in 1997. Charlene Minkowski, a 23-year-old law clerk, was waiting for a train at a busy Dundas subway station when she was pushed by Herbert Cheong, a man with a history of mental illness.

Cheong was convicted of second-degree murder after court heard he developed a plan to kill someone. A Crown attorney at the time called it “a form of urban terrorism . . . totally random.”

In 2009, three boys were pushed into the path of a train at Dufferin station. Two of the boys fell to the tracks while the third maintained his balance. Of the boys who fell, one suffered minor injuries and had two toes amputated while the other was not injured.

The man who pushed them, Adenir De Oliveira, was found not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.

Police are asking anyone who may have been inside Bloor-Yonge station at the time of the incident to contact investigators at 416-808-7400 or to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

Correction - June 19, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said the two boys who fell into the tracks after being pushed in 2009 suffered minor injuries. In fact, one suffered minor injuries and had two toes amputated while the other was not injured.