Man charged in random, ‘racially motivated’ Metro Vancouver transit assaults: police

A Metro Vancouver Transit Police patch is seen on an officer's uniform, in Vancouver, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A man alleged to have assaulted three people on Metro Vancouver’s transit system in a series of attacks authorities describe as unprovoked and racially motivated has been charged.

Metro Vancouver Transit Police issued a statement announcing charges Thursday, providing details about the alleged assaults that occurred over four days in September.

“None of the teenage victims knew their assailant; two of the assaults were believed to be racially motivated,” police said, in the statement.

Jonathan Madera Almazan, 19, has been charged with three counts of assault and two counts of mischief under $5,000, according to MVTP.

On Sept. 20, around 12:40 p.m., a 16-year-old boy was riding a Burnaby bus when he was allegedly slapped across the face “so hard that it caused injury and broke his glasses,” police said, adding the victim reported the man had made “racist comments about the ethnicity that matched the teen’s.”

The next day, around 7:30 p.m., transit police received a report of an alleged assault on a 17-year-old boy on the SkyTrain in Vancouver.

“The suspect boarded the same train a little later and was seen acting erratically,” the statement from MVTP said.

“The suspect then allegedly approached the victim, made derogatory comments regarding his ethnic appearance, allegedly snatched his mobile phone, punched him in the face, and threw his phone back at him.”

On Sept. 23, a 19-year-old boy on a Vancouver bus was allegedly punched in the face and kicked in the stomach. A suspect was arrested that day with help from the Vancouver Police Department, MVTP’s statement said.

“Hate and violence have no place on transit. Anyone who experiences or witnesses a crime during their transit journey is asked to report it,” the statement concluded.