Man arrested in unprovoked hammer attack on city bus

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This article was published 04/02/2025 (416 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Police say a bus passenger struck another man with a hammer in an unprovoked attack late Monday morning.

Officers with the Winnipeg Police Service were sent to the area of the Disraeli Freeway and Sutherland Avenue at about 10:15 a.m. after two passengers were attacked.

The passenger hit with a hammer, who did not know the attacker, was a man in his 20s. The attacker then moved to the front of the bus, where he began yelling and tackled another passenger in his 40s, the WPS said in a news release Tuesday.

Police said other passengers — fearing for their safety — intervened, and one used bear spray to try to stop the assault.

The attacker ran off the bus, and police arrested a man on the Disraeli Bridge.

The passengers also got off the bus because bear spray had been used. Nobody was hurt, but the bus had to be decontaminated, the WPS said.

Police seized the bear spray but did not charge the person who used it.

Steven Michael Gagnon, 30, of Winnipeg has been charged with assault with a weapon, assault, uttering threats and possession of a weapon. He was detained in custody.