Canada Transportation Report: Bus Passenger Beheads Seat Mate

Published on July 31st, 2008

Witnesses: Canada bus passenger beheads seat mate __ I think it was because the victim had his earbuds turned up too loud.

But passenger Garnet Caton said the victim, who appeared to be about 19, was sleeping with headphones on when his seat mate suddenly began stabbing him as the bus traveled a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway, a dozen miles from Portage La Prairie. Caton, sitting just one seat in front of the two men, said he heard no exchanges between them prior to the violence.

“We heard this bloodcurdling scream and turned around, and the guy was standing up, stabbing this guy repeatedly,” Caton said from a hotel in Brandon, Manitoba, where he and other horrified passengers were taken…

He said the suspect had the victim on the floor of the bus and “was cutting his head off” with a large hunting knife.

The Canadians, in a moment of understatement said this incident was not common. Hmm. Good to know, IF TRUE!

We get you there, chop, chop!

37 users responded in " Canada Transportation Report: Bus Passenger Beheads Seat Mate "

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# 1 Who said, on July 31st, 2008 at 7:41 pm

God probably told him to do it.

# 2 MotaMan said, on July 31st, 2008 at 7:44 pm

He was listening to No Agenda and heard John ranting about people who turn their earbuds up too loud.

# 3 QB said, on July 31st, 2008 at 8:08 pm

We don’t have any mamby-pamby liberal hand holding “let’s get along” kind of attitudes up here in Canada.

# 4 Somebody_Else said, on July 31st, 2008 at 8:14 pm

I guess we need tougher knife control…

Nobody tried to stop the guy? I guess there isn’t a whole lot you can do on a bus, but I would have at least tried to throw something heavy at him.

# 5 dAN said, on July 31st, 2008 at 8:16 pm

people on the news are starting to question if we need to start cranking up security at bus stops now….. metal detectors and all…..I guess some incidents like this is the perfect excuse for them to do it.

# 6 Helzerman said, on July 31st, 2008 at 8:17 pm

I like that they just let him go about his business chopping up the body and showing off the result up and down the bus. Being a hero is over rated. Those Canadians know how to mind their own business.

# 7 admfubar said, on July 31st, 2008 at 8:27 pm

poor canadians, they get cranky when it is too warm….
soooooo i guess with global warming we will see more of this…….

# 8 Highlander said, on July 31st, 2008 at 8:32 pm

There can be only one!

# 9 MikeW said, on July 31st, 2008 at 8:35 pm

John,

I’m not usually too uptight about things – but this is a horrific thing that happened – and the artwork you have chosen for the post is in pretty poor taste. Even for my incredibly low standards.

# 10 Ah_Yea said, on July 31st, 2008 at 8:39 pm

This guy wasn’t a Muslim Jihadist, was he?

# 11 envirotex said, on July 31st, 2008 at 8:45 pm

While travelling around north America last year I heard from several fellow Greyhound patrons that this sort of thing happens although you are more likely to get robbed or beat up (which is what happened to some of them.)

# 12 EightAlready said, on July 31st, 2008 at 9:18 pm

I certainly hope the vic got a full refund. This is wrong on so many levels. I hope the bastard gets hung for the “hyenas” crime against public transport.

WHERE I COME FROM YOU CAN GET KICKED OFF A BUS JUST FOR EATING ON IT.

Maybe drag him by the minor genitallis behind the bus, over the snowy river then over the rocky mountains with Bullwinkle giving him one one the way.

# 13 M.L. Burger King said, on July 31st, 2008 at 9:22 pm

But I thought Micheal Moore said that with the gun laws in Canada that there were no murders in Canada ever
Does this mean that I can take my rifle for hunting in Canada ? Or just take a knife to defend myself in the bush from the bears while i drink bud ?
It can be said that with all the taxes that Canadians pay ( even on the Greyhound bus ticket and the knife) that Canadians are among the stupidest people to ever inhabit the earth
It all comes down to the price of bananas in Fargo North Dakota vs Canadian prices
Indeed that is why the bus rider might of been so infuriated – it was all about the excessive price he had to pay for those bananas in Brandon Manitoba

# 14 chuck said, on July 31st, 2008 at 9:32 pm

It’s a good think we have strict gun control laws in Canada, otherwise the killer could have been shot the guy.

# 15 r_and_om said, on July 31st, 2008 at 9:37 pm

#8 said it for me..

# 16 QB said, on July 31st, 2008 at 9:59 pm

ML Burger, you are welcome to visit Canada anytime and find out for yourself what’s it like rather than relying on Michael Moore for your information.

But then again, you’d probably not enjoy another country. It sounds like you don’t enjoy much of anything.

# 17 QB said, on July 31st, 2008 at 10:00 pm

#6 It’s actually the mosquitoes that drive us over the edge.

# 18 lou said, on July 31st, 2008 at 10:18 pm

# 12
Are you retarded ?

# 19 Chris Mac said, on August 1st, 2008 at 12:36 am

We get you there, chop, chop!

Priceless. Can you make/link to a high-res ver for me desktop?

# 20 BigCarbonFoot said, on August 1st, 2008 at 3:04 am

If there were no bus and everyone had been driving their own POVs (privately owned vehicle) this wouldn’t have happened.

# 21 Mr. Fusion said, on August 1st, 2008 at 5:17 am

#13, Burger,

But I thought Micheal Moore said that with the gun laws in Canada that there were no murders in Canada ever

That was your first mistake. You tried to think. The Canadian murder rate is a fraction of the American rate.

Does this mean that I can take my rifle for hunting in Canada ?

Generally yes. There are restrictions and regulations though, including obvious mental problems, so you should check it out first.

Or just take a knife to defend myself in the bush from the bears while i drink bud ?

If you would hike into the bush and drink “bud” then that might qualify you as mentally unstable.

It can be said that with all the taxes that Canadians pay ( even on the Greyhound bus ticket and the knife) that Canadians are among the stupidest people to ever inhabit the earth

Only the mentally unstable can’t understand how that “free” medical care, including mental treatment, is paid from those taxes.

It all comes down to the price of bananas in Fargo North Dakota vs Canadian prices

OooKaay. Two entirely different distribution networks, but I guess it makes sense to you.

Indeed that is why the bus rider might of been so infuriated – it was all about the excessive price he had to pay for those bananas in Brandon Manitoba

I would have thought that you would have speculated the guy went over the edge because of the miles and miles of endless snow, punctuated only by the occasional igloo, polar bear, and passing dog sled.

# 22 Personality said, on August 1st, 2008 at 7:49 am

You can’t grow Bananas in North Dakota dummy.

# 23 Paddy-O said, on August 1st, 2008 at 8:10 am

When I read this yesterday the 1st thing that struck me was that 30 people (a number of them men I’d suppose) stood and watched as a human being was slowly butchered and beheaded with a KNIFE!

Cowards.

# 24 QB said, on August 1st, 2008 at 8:11 am

Mr Fusion said: “The Canadian murder rate is a fraction of the American rate.”

Could you please stop using logic and facts to make sense.

I’ve felt for a while that our lower murder rate has a great deal to do with a different culture and lower population density. It’s a myth that Canadians don’t have or use guns. I personally don’t own one but my neighbor next door has several and often picks off magpies with his .22, the guy across the alley has a rifle and a pistol. I was cleaning out my in-laws house last weekend and took the old ammo over to the RCMP for disposal.

Gun ownership is certainly lower but I think that’s an effect, not the cause.

# 25 Paddy-O said, on August 1st, 2008 at 8:23 am

#24 Yes, the lower murder rate has n/g to do with the level of gun ownership. Areas of the US with very high gun ownership rates are amongst the lowest in murder rate. It is linked to other societal ills.

# 26 green said, on August 1st, 2008 at 9:40 am

#23 – Pussies abound nowadays. And society is worse off for it.

# 27 Bob West said, on August 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am

Reading some of the comments here only reinforces my doubts about most people. This is a horrific story that some make jokes about. Nobody can really say what they would or would not do in a situation like this. My sympathy to the family.

# 28 Paddy-O said, on August 1st, 2008 at 10:25 am

#27 “Nobody can really say what they would or would not do in a situation like this”

Bullshit! Maybe you don’t know if you’d wimp out.

# 29 Sai Kai Lee said, on August 1st, 2008 at 3:29 pm

No, not a muslim, he is an Asian. Just what we need, more crazy Asians.

SKL

# 30 Paddy-O said, on August 1st, 2008 at 4:14 pm

#29 Been to B.C. lately? The Chinese own it outright.

# 31 QB said, on August 1st, 2008 at 4:45 pm

#30 Not just the Chinese. The Lower Mainland has the world’s largest Sikh community outside of India.

# 32 jim h said, on August 1st, 2008 at 5:51 pm

#27 is correct. No one can predict or control their response to something like this. The shock, horror and panic would be overwhelming. #28, please understand that Batman is a fictional character. You, #27 and I are just ordinary people.

What happened here is probably due to schizophrenia, a truly terrible disease that I hope medical science will soon be able to do something about.

# 33 Mr. Fusion said, on August 2nd, 2008 at 9:08 am

#32, Jim,

Cow-Paddy doesn’t think like a normal or rational person would. He doesn’t understand that the assailant had a large knife and this would take place in the confined space of a bus aisle. That is OK, because Cow-Paddy carries his “piece” with him for just that sort of emergency.

# 34 Jonathan said, on August 2nd, 2008 at 9:53 am

“Fear only creates more fear”

Well I think that people are reading posts – not for entertainment or making jokes but in search for an explanation to rest themselves more at ease. For example, questions of race: (i.e. was this person non-White so I could sleep better at night) ..and others who just want anwers.

I do agree with #21 who basically told those who say silly comments to get real and address the real issue.

The real issue I beleive is: when will we take our community back?

When will we stop these guys on busses or in Subways stations (no not the food subway you guys have in the prairies )

This bus incident describes society as a whole in most cases where crimes occur. 1 bad person out of 37, or 2.7% of population. And it is our jobs as citizens (the 97.3% of us) to control these people. Not only the police. We call the police but we need to protect our community and take it back first because we are the ones living it, we are the 97.3 %.

You’re not going to tell me 37 people could not stop one man. ..and by the way ..I think they should consider training bus drivers, just like flight attendants are trained to react in situations of chaos. They should have more tools and abilities to react in these situations (a stun gun, rubber bullet gun etc…) Why not? They are responsible for the lives of their passengers.

What happened here is what happens when we allow the 2.7% of bad apples to take over our society. This is what happens when we allow fear to take over. We fear for our lives more than that of our community (or society) which only creates more fear, therein increasing the gravity of the situation, thus leading to our own demise as a community if we dont stand up in these situations.

So I say that we should take back control of our society because there will always be a 2.7% of population of bad apples or grapes and there always has been, its just a matter of taking back our community and controlling these bad apples.

# 35 KJones said, on August 3rd, 2008 at 3:43 pm

#34: “You’re not going to tell me 37 people could not stop one man.”

There are a number of problems with the whole “they should have stopped him!” fantasy.

First of all, the victim was likely already mortally wounded before the bus even stopped. Maybe they could have done something to prevent the beheading, but at what risk? Losing more lives?

Second, any action against the killer would have taken place in a confined space. Have you been on a bus? There’s barely enough room for one person to move down the aisle, never mind 37. That would mean a one vs. one attack against an armed man, having 30 other passengers behind you would have provided no advantage. Unless you’re a martial arts expert the odds are against you winning that sort of confrontation.

The majority of people would have reacted the same way the passengers of the bus did, they did what they could. I’m glad they were able to trap the killer in the bus until the police arrived.

# 36 Tootsie said, on August 4th, 2008 at 10:12 am

As I understand it, the fella in the seat in front alerted the bus driver to stop, and yelled at everyone to get off the bus, probably saving several lives. After everyone else was off, and they saw the killer walking down the aisle with the head, they trapped him on the bus. A truck driver stopped and armed them with impromptu weapons in case the killer managed to break out. I don’t see that as doing nothing. In my job, I am trained to react in emergency situations to alert those around me first. I believe those on the bus did what they could.

# 37 Jonatan said, on August 5th, 2008 at 6:10 pm

Ya, after some thought I’m leaning towards the getting out idea because apparently they were sleeping when it happened so he was most likely already dead. But in an emergency situation we have to be the police I beleive (when the police are not yet on scene).

It was brave for all the people and in that scenario I think it was right on second thought. But KJones, you should note that you’re comment is coming from the view of a person filled with fear. I agree with the theory of don’t risk another life for one (all the way). But criminals are getting more intelligent and are feeding off of this fear. And my friend I beleive that fear only creates more fear. So if people never do anything to try to stop attackers on buses they will not stop to think that the community might stop them.

So I think its not a fanstasy but a community oriented country that is losing its community slowly. And so in light of this I htink the guy who was relating globalisation and the cost of fruits is not so far off in a philisophical spectacle. The argument I make is that the more we don’t try to stop incidents in public the more deadly and dangerous they will become. And eventually one day we could be the victim on any bus. And I live in Montreal and I’ve seen several attacks on innocent victims getting robbed. And what strikes me the most is that the robbers are not always so fearful of skilled but they know that people fear too much for their lives to react (naturally in a way) but this fear also undermines our own saftey.

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