The deadly stabbing of a Winnipeg bus driver at the University of Manitoba campus early on Tuesday morning has renewed calls to improve safety for transit workers.
Police say 58-year-old Irvine J. Fraser died in hospital after he was stabbed by a passenger while stopped at the end of his route.
A 22-year-old suspect was taken into custody. No criminal charges have been laid.
Bus driver Nelson Giesbrecht said Irvine had been working nights because his daughter died and he had been caring for her child during the day.
Giesbrecht was among the drivers who said that the death highlights the need for plastic shields that fully separate drivers from passengers. The city piloted the shields but never implemented them.
Paul Thorp, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Canada, said that although assaults of transit operators happen every day in Canada, Fraser’s death marks the first time a driver has been killed.
He said municipalities across Canada need to take transit safety more seriously, although he said it appears full shields would not have helped in this particular incident.
“From what I gather,” Thorp said, “this was a person that was asleep on the bus and the operator approached this individual and woke them up, and it escalated from there.”
Winnipeg Transit director Dave Wardrop said the city is looking into new measures to improve safety.
At a news conference Tuesday morning, Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth said officers were on scene shortly after 2 a.m.
He said witnesses directed officers to the frozen Red River where the police canine unit was able to track down the suspect.
"The suspect was trying to cross the river," Smyth said. "A canine unit member was able to apprehend the suspect before he crossed the river."
Smyth noted that one officer went onto the ice as part of the investigation and fell through. The officer was rescued and did not suffer any injuries.
Smyth said the incident was “shocking,” but also called it a “rare occurrence.
“It is a shocking story any time a public servant is killed while working,” he said.” We don’t think things like this are going to happen.”
With reports from CTV Winnipeg’s Sarah Plowman and Jeff Keele
