Passengers aboard a greyhound bus, travelling from Edmonton to Winnipeg, were left horrified after witnessing a gruesome attack that left another passenger dead.
The victim, a twenty-two year old man, had boarded the bus in Edmonton, while his attacker boarded in Brandon. The two are not believed to have known each other, but some time during the journery, the suspect (described as a 40 year old man) switched seats and came to sit beside the young man. The victim was listening to music on an electronic device, and no conversation was had between the two.
All of a sudden, we all heard this scream, this bloodcurdling scream […] The attacker was standing up right over the top of the guy with a large hunting knife – a survival, Rambo knife – holding the guy and continually stabbing him… in the chest area,” passenger Garnet Caton told CBC television.
As the attack continued, other passengers evacuated the bus. Three men later attempted to board the bus,but describe witnessing the decapitation of the young victim:
When we came back on the bus… he was cutting the guy’s head off and pretty much gutting him up.
Passengers then attempted to barricade the bus door, and prevent the suspect from coming out.
We put our bodies up against the door, waiting for him to come out … and he went back and brought the head to the front and pretty much displayed it … and dropped it on the ground in front of us.
All very calmly. There was no rage in him … It was just like he was a robot or something
RCMP officers later arrived at the scene, and after a long stand-off, the suspect was apprehended.
It is believed that the victim was stabbed a total of 50-60 times.
No charges have yet been laid.
UPDATES
The victim has been identified as 22 year old Tim McLean Jr of Winnipeg. 40 year old Vince Weiguang Li, of Edmonton has been charged with second-degree murder. The Crown is also asking for a psychiatric assessment at this time. Li is reported to have stated in court,
Kill me now
Greyhound pulls its “bus rage” ad campaign,
Greyhound spokeswoman Abby Wambaugh said the company felt the ad, launched last year, could be offensive and that it was no longer appropriate.
She said the campaign was officially over before the attack, but that some ads were still up.
Wambaugh said Greyhound wants them to be removed as quickly as possible.
The Westboro Baptist Church, of Topeka, Kansas, often classified as a hate group, will be attending the funeral to protest McLean’s “filthy way of life.”
Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of the founder of the church, said,
He was a rebel against God. He was taught to be a rebel by his parents. He came from a rebel country … They brought this wrath upon his head. And it sucks to be him and it sucks to be them.
Although border officials attempted to stop the church from entering Canada, recent reports indicate they have crossed the border.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also weighs in, launching their own campaign to try to raise awareness about animal rights,
PETA’s ad…is meant to spur people to think about the terror and pain experienced by animals who are raised and killed for food. The group aims to demonstrate that animals — just like humans — are made of flesh, blood, and bone and deserve protection from needless killing.
My question, a hypothetical one since I wasn’t there and reports are probably incomplete, is where on the bus did this happen and if people had to pass by this man with the knife, how could they not act to stop him?
Being stabbed 50 – 60 times indicates some time did pass – enough time for everyone to exit the bus BUT was there not enough time to act to save the victim?
Again, I wasn’t there, don’t know the whole story BUT I am ashamed to hear that no one took action to prevent this attack. Knives are scary but he was only one man!
However, I am heartened to hear of the three men who prevented more people from being hurt.
I sincerely doubt that anyone, except for a trained professional-cop, soldier, etc.-could overcome the shock of such a horrific act in order to act. Especially in the confined area of a bus. The knife was described as “rambo” size. I don’t fault the other passengers for getting the hell out of there. If not someone else would have surely been killed or several injured/disfigured.
I want to know which specific politicians are calling for a “knife registry.”
h/t Jason Cherniak
Something needs to be done about greyhound security! You can travel across this country on a greyhound bus with a gun or a knife and no one would ever know! There are no metal detectors or security checks before getting onboard – how does greyhound get away with this? (you can’t even get on a plane with a pair of tweezers yet you can get on a bus and travel across the country with a butcher knife?) I was on a bus to Vancouver years ago and one man flipped out and started punching a sleeping passenger in the head and threatening him with a switch blade knife and the bus driver was trying to deescalate the situation by speaking with him calmly amongst sleeping passengers and risking everyone else’s safety in the process! I mean some people travel across country and have to sleep on these vehicles for days! There are elderly people and children who sleep on these buses all the time! Where is the security? It amazes me how greyhound has gotten away with this for so long. I say we boycott greyhound until they get proper security measures in place!
Yeah, it just goes to show how petty the Harper Conservatives are. In the middle of a tragedy they use a made up issue, the knife registry, in order to score political points. Guess their Republican consultants advised them on that one. Pathetic.
I agree with Deb. The way i see it, criminals are just big-time bullies. Don’t you think there are enough good people in this world to take these bad guys down and put them into the hands of the authorities? And like Deb says, I wasn’t there, and honestly I would have probably done the same as all those other people. And there may or may not have been enough time to save him. The reports say he was stabbed 50-60 times, but he was probably gone before that (I hope so that he didn’t have to endure all of it). I am angry at the government for lessening the punishments for these kind of people. No murderer like that should ever see the light of day again. I think they should stop giving them nice meals in their nice cells and give them crap food in a crap place. Take all the money they’re investing into these criminal hotels and put it into better causes like our children’s futures or better healthcare. I have met people that have gone to jail. They have FRIENDS in there. They don’t MIND going back. They must think it’s a joke! Well I agree… our governments lack of good judgement in dealing with these cruel criminals is dispicable. The governments job is to keep hard-working, stable Canadians safe. But instead they’re making it easier for murderers and rapists and kidnappers to do the crimes. People will not stop murdering each other, its a fact. But isn’t there something we can do to keep them behind bars forever???
I find it sad that all people could do was run .It sounds like the attacker was focused on his victem .It would have been easy to grab his knife arm and try to stop him.Other pasengers would have saw the heroic attempt and maybe helped.Only takes one person to show some courage and it would have spread to others.Instead fear was the first response and thats what spread instead.
One stab in the neck is enough to kill you. How are you supposed to save a already dead man?
You know after a tragedy like this and if a passenger of this bus was reading this I do love how the guilt of others words would be eaten with the regret that they did not try and stop the attacker. I know for a fact I cannot say I would try and do anything to stop it, I mean when a person is completely calm and doing such an action that generally stipulates that there would be a very big issue with stopping him as he seemed wanting to finish off his crime and that if anyone got in the way then he would have no hesitation to murder them. Though that is rationalizing events I was not there for. Though what I think is pathetic is that people are now scrutinizing innocent people because they had a survival instinct that kicked in and kept them out of harms way.
I’m questioning some of the comments made stating that “if only someone had attempted to stop the attack.” If only… I’m thinking to myself as I write this, “Would I have intervened?” I’m not sure on that, I wasn’t there. I’d like to say I would have, but I’m not sure how I would have reacted. I think we need to focus NOT on the fact that no one intervened, but as “boy” said, the lack of security established on Greyhound. I find it ridiculous that this happened! I can’t even board an airplane with a lighter to light a cigarette, but someone can board a bus with a “Rambo” knife!!!! This completely boggles my mind! I am boycotting Greyhound and encouraging others to do the same until better security measures are in place.
How about this for Greyhound security. All you crazy’s that want to do sick crap to other people, just stay home and try it on your self. Then do your self in. Instead of making 37 people minus one, live with what happened that day for the rest of their life. What about the driver that will probably never go back to his job that he loved because you are a freak. Some people should have been beaten more as children, and had a parent that actually gave a crap about them. Death penalty should be around for people like this and Picton. The kid was a carny, what the hell happened to this guy to make him do this? Drugs are bad, to hell with anyone that does them. Go off yourself to. The attack happened at the back of the bus, I’m surprised that the three people got off before the killer got them. Like I said Greyhound security isn’t the problem, it’s the people that get it misconstrude in their head that someone or something else should be responsible for what they do, or are just demented. If it comes out that the killer had an obvious mental illness than we should start rounding up known looneys and putting them in nice safe hospitals. And not the hospitals you and me go to. I’d rather pay for a crazy to get real help (instead of being pushed off onto other systems) than paying to keep a murder/rapist/child molestor, in jail. And don’t give me that BS that everyone has rights. They lost those when the made a victim or took a hit from the needle. That’s my rant, lets all start taking responsiblity for our own actions.
The worst thing about this whole tragedy is that media and the government are going to use all of their resources and time trying to find a scapegoat for what happened. Obviously this guy had a couple of screws loose and they will dig really deep to find and place blame, which in my opinion belittles the criminal justice system. They will lessen the charges and he will be charged with less than 2nd degree murder because he will plead criminal insanity. SO where will he be???? In a psych ward and once the psych ward is over crowded he will be put under review a few times and the highly pressured psychiatrist who needs to make more room in the psych ward may sign off on his release or transfer him to a less secure psych ward.
We keep hearing from politicians that Capital Punishment is not the way to go……that it is ‘prehistoric behavior’…..yet criminals who are committing repulsive crimes like this are left to live out their lives in a cell while the victim’s life has ended and the family’s life is turned upside down…all I have to say is bring in the needle and put the criminal to sleep!
Have you ever been on a Greyhound? the aisle is very narrow and this offender was right at the back of the bus. Even if someone did want to help try to disarm the guy, unless they too were at the back, how would they get past the exiting women and children. Anyone who is a first responder for dangerous situations is taught to evaluate their own safety first. Even if they got to the guy, have you ever seen what a knife can do to a person very quickly? (look at some knife defense sites, you’ll be surprised)Only one person would have been able to approach the offender due to the narrow aisle and he would have easily cut them to ribbons before they could do anything. Then the next hero steps over that body and gets some of the same. I suppose eventually the offender would have tired out and been subdued, if anyone could get over the pile of bodies in front of him.
To imply the passengers did anything wrong by fleeing is offensive and unacceptable. 3 people did return to the bus ASAP and nearly paid with their lives.
Everything that was done by the passengers and driver was as it should have been. Get everyone to safety, re-evaluate the situation, help if safe to do so, retreat if not. They then secured the bus to prevent further tradgedy. The driver, passenger and truck driver are the heroes here.
Bravo Mike,
Well said. It is revolting that anyone would even dare to question the actions of the people on that bus. Unless you have been in a similar situation, don’t comment on your own misguided sense of duty. Deb, you should be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting that those people did anything wrong, not “ashamed to hear that no one took action to prevent this attack”, as you state.
You further state that “Knives are scary but he was only one man!” Are you kidding? Knives kill people just as effectively as guns do. Would you question these people if this guy was shooting a person and everybody ran from the bus? I hope not.
Deb, and everybody else who agreed with her, owe the other victims on that bus, and that is exactly what they are, a true apology for your callus and unthinking words.
THis was a trerrible thing for all involved. The Perp should be held accountale without excuse. The government calls for a “Knife Registry” is rdiculous. Crominals don’t follow the rules. Look how well the “Gun Registry” has worked. Follw Texas witha conceled gun law. Viiolent crime dropped dramatically when this was introduced. Take guns, crimainal still have them. Take knives, criminals still have them. What will be used next? And remeber, there are still people allowed to have weapons without registrations. Cultural groups, ie. serimonial daggers, ethocnic groups ie treaty rights. Stop making special considerations for minority groups. One law for all. Let reasonalbe people protect themselves. The RCMP can’t, the courts will not. This WAS a tragedy for all on the bus. Sting the “poor, insane, poorly done to” perp SOB up. Take him off the streets. How can he pay for taking a life! The rights of the perp?? What about the victims?? It is time the victims have rights.
To those of you on the bus, my deepest sympathies for what you have had to endure. Paryers are with you.
Politicians! U work for us, not the cominals. Earn your money for a change. Enter the real world!!
Do you want off? It just makes you want to say, “Stop this world, I want off.” It is so angering, so shocking, that it is both deafening and silencing at the same time. How can anyone believe that man is basically, “goodâ€, when hearing news like this?
Debra J.M. Smith
of
http://www.InformingChristians.com/
Aug. 04, 2008
This is a really scary situation for me. Why? because in early Sept I am taking a Greyhound bus back to Ohio where all of my family is. One month before and I have to hear this? Let me tell you how psyched I am. Someone that does something like this, in my opinion, has no rights. He has forfeited any rights he had. He should face the death penalty, but he should not be put to sleep kindly and neat with a needle. He should be strapped down and stabbed, oh say 50 to 60 times with, I dunno, a hunting knife perhaps. Then he should have his head cut off and his body cut up. That would be the ONLY suitable punishment for such a person. Why baby them because they are said to be insane? Why? Because they are not strong enough to keep their sanity? Am I going to have to arm myself to get on the bus just for self defense? Pathetic.
I’d hate to be the guy beside the guy that was getting stabbed.
I also agree with the people saying that everyone on the bus is a victim…put yourself in their shoes. Angela is saying that she would have liked someone to save the victim but wouldn’t have personally done it herself…that’s not only selfish but foolish. Think about it, if you wouldn’t risk your life to save a man being stabbed, who in their right mind would? All of the passengers did the right thing getting off the bus and securing the crimminal, we should be thanking them, not bashing them. I also agree with the Greyhound security (or lack of)…Just last month, I travelled across Canada from Ontario to BC by bus and couldn’t believe that no bags, carry-ons etc were checked. I am a young teenager, alone, sleeping on a bus for three days and no one is concerned for my safety? I was shocked and frightened but also thankful I arrived safely, I could never imagine how the passengers of this bus would feel. I was just a click away from booking a ticket home on the bus and had a high chance of being on that bus and I’m dismayed. My heart goes out to the family of the victim and all other passengers…
I find it encouraging that not a single comment here appears to be immigrant-bashing. This is highly idiosyncratic, if you account for all the mainstream news sites where people also post opinions.
Tim,
We have a long history of virulent racism and animosity among some of our readers that come here for a particular issue. As a result, we have little qualms stifling their notions of expression.
Rest assured, we did have some bashing that tried to get through.
There is absolutely no place for that anywhere, no matter how distraught people may be due to a tragedy.
O.O wow, greyhound should have way better security i agree, to let ppl with knives get on a bus is a really scary thought !!
I have had a greyhound explode while i travelled in it from Boston to NewYork and the bus driver was usless it was a mad dash of everyone screaming and jumping out windows and doors, there was no control the driver seemed as scared as us and then we had to wait like 3hrs on the side of the road for another bus to come and pick us up!!
On the same trip reversed i have also woken up to a guy leaning over me about to touch me, its scary that a bus driver does not have more control or that there is not another worker that watches over the passengers. I know that you travel and sleep on the busses at your own risk but you dont expect you head to get chopped of while your sleeping or the bus to explode and the cabin to be filled with smoke either!
I work for the company, and just want to say that the changes to security that everyone is talking about is all fine and dandy, but we should be a little bit more realistic. Greyhound has hundreds of stops just in the west alone. Now you can have high security in the major cities but out in the little towns that only a couple of people get on at a time just can’t be done. You expect a driver to pat a person down before they get on the bus, not. Does a pilot pat you down before you get on the plane, not. And if they did people would cry that their personal space was infrinded. Just to add the killer got on in Erikson, MB. Not a huge city is it? Greyhound is a company that is trying to move forward and is making large changes to make the passengers safe and satisfied, and remake its reputation of being a safe and enjoyable mode of transportation.
Also on safety we not only try to make sure that the people getting on are safe people but also that the bus itself is safe to travel on, and the people driving the bus are safe to operate it. Not untill you have experinced what it takes to try to make a company like this work will you understand the other side of the coin. We are not perfect but nothing is, and all we can do is try.
I am not a company spokes person but have a deep loyalty to it and would like people to understand a tiny bit of the obstacles that this company faces. This person did this on his own and Greyhound did not put the knife in his hands. Normal people ride, drive, and work on the bus, it just so happens this person was far from normal.
I’m not sure where people come off saying “the other passengers should have intervened” Seriously!? All of you act like you know what you would do in that situation, but I would put my life on it that you would either freeze up, go into shock, or get the hell off the bus like everyone else. A man who can commit a horrible act such as this without any remorse, most likely would turn the situation on you if you tried to stop him. Also, What in the crap is up with that Baptist Church attending the funeral to speak ill of the victim. That makes me sick and extremely angry. I’m all for letting people practice religion, that is their right, but if you start bashing someone for being a rebel and saying his parents brought this on his head, you sincerely need to be castrated so you are unable to breed simple minded children. I hope you all burn in hell or wherever it is you robots go when you die….hopefully somewhere unpleasant.
Also,
The man who killed this young boy should be institutionalized for life and be forced to take drugs before they are released to the public. Harsh? Deal with it! We are WAY to lenient on psychopaths. I don’t care how twisted and messed up you are in the head, if you commit unspeakable crimes, you deserve nothing less than torture or involuntary drug testing. In other words, let these sick mothers be the lab rats, not society.
Ha, and we pay to keep these low lifes in jail feeding them 3 meals a day with a bed and running water. Put them in a small crate, lock it, throw away the key, then throw the crate in the ocean…problem solved