It’s certainly a sad commentary on the state of personal security when a young man was repeatedly stabbed in the chest as he slept, and then DECAPITATED as a final and fatal gesture of supreme violence.
One can only imagine the horrific scene of blood and gore that the other passengers were subjected to, and who were without a doubt all in fear for their OWN lives!
“He acted without emotion. Like a robot” one passenger reported. “He appeared normal, talking with one female passenger during a smoke break”, and on reboarding took his pack from the front area of the bus and moved back to sit beside the victim whom the police have not yet identified.
About 20 minutes later he began attacking the man. “He didn’t say anything to the victim at all,” reported one witness, who heard a “blood-curdling scream” and saw the man holding a large “Rambo” hunting knife above the victim, “continually stabbing him in the chest area”.
For more reporting on this tragic event please see CBC’s news report.
My thoughts on this are, HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!
In this day and age of hyper security on most other forms of public transport, particularly with air travel, I want to ask why Greyhound has not yet been forced to initiate similar security measures. There’s no question in my mind that this terrible event PROVES that it can happen to anyone at any time and without warning.
I would say that Greyhound, although unable to predict such events, bears SOME responsibility for not ensuring the safety of ALL it’s passengers by making sure that no passengers are carrying any weapons or items that could be used as weapons. Security screenings, x-ray viewing of baggage, metal detectors, and increased security at terminals are just some of the measures that SHOULD be required.
My own personal experience at the Greyhound terminal in Edmonton, leaves me with the image of the dregs of our society loitering about, panhandling, looking for a score.
This terrible murder leaves me wondering about the safety of my own children who are travelling with their mother on a vacation trip. What about their safety? Is Greyhound Bus lines ensuring that their trip will not be marred by them being forced to endure such a horrific event? Or worse, with perhaps someone bent on more murderous destruction and mayhem, carrying a bomb or gas cannister to kill EVERYONE on the bus?
If this does not cause an outcry across Canada and North America and wake us up to the cold harsh reality that this is NOT a safe world to live in anymore, then perhaps the family of the victim will at least wake up Greyhound Bus Lines, by filing a lawsuit for failing in their due diligence to protect it’s passengers!
7 responses so far ↓
1 Diane Bjorling // Jul 31, 2008 at 11:44 am
I am shocked and saddened by this story, for the simple reason, I guess in many ways I still believe in the innocence of man. My heart goes to the family of course, but I also feel for the other victims, the passengers and the driver as they also have to live with this for the rest of their lives.
I was on the greyhound just before Christmas and I have to say, the people were wonderful..the drivers were amazing.
While I understand your anger and fear, I also have to ask…how more security conscious can we get?
2 Redmag3 // Jul 31, 2008 at 2:57 pm
This is a tragic and horrible event to have happen, and that he managed to DECAPITATE someone with a KNIFE before being caught or stopped …
This incident raises concerns about saftey and security. Should we further scan and screen people using these methods of transit for the saftey and security of the passengers?
I know I have a viewpoint that people are going to disagree with, but if someone is determined to kill someone else, screening and law enforcement will not curb that desire. This man acted without emotion and was PREPARED (was stowing a hunting knife) to take a life on that bus, and I am convinced that if his kinfe had been confiscated someone like this could have killed that person with their bare hands.
There will ALWAYS be someone who is unnerved enough that will do something like this regardless of the rational steps taken to prevent it, because people are not always rational. This is one of the reasons the death penalty , among other things, only serves as a deturrant to the person who was convicted. Knowing there is a consequence will not stop a husband or wife from killing their spouce if they find them mid quoitus with another person … crimes of passion and others of “unreasonable” nature are not squeltched by the consequences.
It may not be nescesary or feasable to invade the privacy of every patron in order to ensure “security” or the illusion of it, greyhound busses make many stops along roadsides or in small towns without a station and it would be impossible to have a searching station at each stop (including rest stops of course). The solution may be the addition of a security gaurd or police officer, trained to deal with these situations, present on all of the bus routes.
There’s a fine line between what actually makes us safe and what is nothing but the illusion of safety. There is also that line between freedom and tyrany, and tyrany is most often born of good intentions, or “for our own good.”
3 MoreSecurityIsNotTheAnswer // Jul 31, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Similarly, my heart goes out to the victim’s family and friends. However, I must dispute your call for imposing further restrictions on everyone’s liberties as a result of this attack.
Random violence is a terrible thing, but unavoidable in a world in which we enjoy freedom. Responding to such rare (and certainly terrible) events by imposing constraints on everyone can only lead to the erosion of freedom. If a similar event happened with someone napping with headphones on a park bench, would the solution be to search everyone before entering the park? If so, where would it stop? Free will is a special thing, but sadly also capable of terrible things too.
When pondering the security vs freedom trade-off, one must consider the situation objectively; removed from the horrific and terrible aspects of the particular event. If such events become common, then certainly the trade-off changes and the benefit to society of further security may out-weigh the restriction on freedom. However, thankfully such random violence of this magnitude is a very rare occurrence.
4 Emily Lee // Jul 31, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Reading about this event on the CTV website made me weep for all involved especially the victim and his family. I can’t imagine the severity of such a crime and to know that the remaining passengers were forced in a standoff outside of the bus while the man inside tried to stab his way off the bus (and at one point holding the victim’s head) is too gruesome to comprehend. It’s always difficult to predict when such events will happen but safety precautions and measures SHOULD be in place, especially now a days with the technology that exists.
5 B E // Jul 31, 2008 at 11:35 pm
FYI, your title is incorrect. The bus was enroute to winnipeg and not Edmonton. It left Edmonton.
“Man Loses Head On Greyhound Bus Enroute To Edmonton”
The CBC link you posted reads…
“Thirty-seven people were aboard the bus en route to Winnipeg from Edmonton.”
6 Secret Agent // Aug 4, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Thanks everyone for your comments!
No doubt that more security raises additional issues such as personal privacy etc.. but I must ask at what cost? Do we lose that much privacy in having our bags scanned for weapons? Is it worth one life? Two? How about a bus load?
If this murderer (yes I know..innocent until proven guilty) “supposed murderer” had better access and planning maybe a bomb would have been used? or an automatic weapon? (I’ll leave the gun laws to another debate)
I’m personally prepared to give up that level of privacy in order to improve my own security and of those around me.
Of course..screening is NOT an absolute deterrent to a determined individual, but in this case a screening would have disarmed the man, and he would likely have been overpowered before actually killing someone. With the knife, the victim had NO chance..nor did anyone have much of a chance to stop him.
I don’t have the perfect answer.. just one that might save more lives.
Thanks again all!
7 Secret Agent // Aug 4, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Thanks for the note about the title.
It’s been corrected!
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