A TTC ticket collector underwent emergency surgery Sunday night after being shot in the neck during an attempted robbery at Dupont subway station. The long-time employee, believed to be in his 50s, remains in hospital but is expected to survive.

Meanwhile, Toronto police are going through surveillance tapes to try to identify the suspect, who took off immediately after the shooting.

Police said the call first came in as a “hold-up alarm.” Dozens of police officers, the canine unit and paramedics swarmed the area within minutes of the shooting, which happened at 7:20 p.m.

A man in a balaclava demanded cash from the collector, then fired a shotgun twice, hitting the collector in the upper chest and neck, according to a police source. The gunman took off running and escaped down the street, the source said. It wasn’t clear if any money was taken.

Byford said there have been reports that a bystander chased after the gunman. Police closed the subway station, sending trains right through, as they investigated.

The station was reopened with full service Monday morning.

Paramedics transported the employee with life-threatening injuries to St. Michael’s Hospital, where he underwent surgery Sunday night. The TTC didn’t release the collector’s name, but said the employee will live.

TTC spokesman Brad Ross recalled one armed robbery at Dupont station a few months ago and two more in one evening four weeks ago, one at Leslie station and the other at Glencairn. No one was hurt during those robberies and arrests were made.

“We’ve done a number of things to hearten the booths and make them less vulnerable to robbery,” said Ross.

There’s a film put on the glass of the collector booths that makes the glass more difficult to shatter, as well as alarms installed inside the booths, The alarm was activated by the collector, who would have a limited amount of cash on hand.

Ross said there are numerous closed-circuit cameras at every station, including at the collecting booths. That footage has been handed over to the police.

“But clearly we need to revisit those arrangements, which we will do first thing (Monday) morning,” Byford said.

During a robbery attempt, TTC staff members are not supposed to resist in any manner, except for sounding the alarm.

“I’d rather lose the money than one of our collectors,” Byford said.

TTC union president Bob Kinnear said he’s concerned about the safety of employees and passengers.

“There’s only so much the employer can do when you’ve got people walking around with guns,” said Kinnear. “No one’s safe from people with guns.”

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Meanwhile, Mayor Rob Ford said in a statement late Sunday that he was “deeply saddened” to hear of the shooting.

“I would like to extend my thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the TTC collector during this most difficult time,” he said.