Transit stabbing investigation has hate crimes angle: police

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This article was published 14/02/2024 (601 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg Transit bus passenger was stabbed Tuesday — on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the murder of a bus driver and just days away from the implementation of onboard security officers.

City police said a man in his twenties had to be treated by emergency workers (who used a chest seal) before being rushed to hospital in critical condition. The man has since been upgraded to stable condition, officials said.

Police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said the man was stabbed onboard a bus at the Osborne Rapid Transit Station at about 6:45 p.m. She said a male suspect was still being sought.

“The major crimes unit is working on it,” McKinnon said, adding racial slurs were voiced before the attack. “The victim is of colour, so (the comments) were racial in nature… It has been forwarded to the hate crimes section.”

Chris Scott, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, which represents more than 1,400 employees at Winnipeg Transit and Brandon Transit, said word of the stabbing hit members hard.

“It kind of stopped all of our breaths here,” Scott said. “(Wednesday) is the seventh anniversary of the tragic passing of Irvine Jubal Fraser and the day before, we get an alert of a stabbing on a bus.

“The (Transit) safety officers can’t come soon enough.”

Fraser, 58, died after being stabbed by Brian Kyle Thomas in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2017.

The Transit driver, who had stopped his bus at the University of Manitoba, told Thomas several times to get out because it was the last stop. Fraser later pushed Thomas off the bus. During a subsequent altercation, he was stabbed multiple times.

In 2019, Thomas was convicted of second-degree murder, with no application for parole for at least 12 years.

The hiring and training of 24 Transit safety officers was a pledge made by Mayor Scott Gillingham at last year’s state of the city speech.

Gillingham made the promise to address both continuing violence against bus drivers and passengers, as well as people sheltering for days and weeks inside transit shelters.

Last month, the Winnipeg Police Association filed a grievance over concerns the safety officers could be taking on duties performed by their members.

On Feb. 9, during another speech at the state of the city event, Gillingham said the safety officers would begin boarding buses and checking transit shelters “10 short days from now.”

A spokesman for the mayor said Wednesday the safety officers are set to begin next week.

There were more than “250 safety incidents involving Transit and our members” in 2023, Scott said Wednesday.

“This troubling trend underscores the urgent need for continued vigilance and action to ensure the safety and well-being of all Transit workers and passengers. We must work tirelessly to prevent any (repeat) of such senseless violence,” the union leader said.

“Never again should we witness the loss of a cherished member of our community due to an act of violence on Transit.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca