Police search for evidence at the scene of a fatal stabbing of a bus driver at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Tuesday, February 14, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)
WINNIPEG — A 22-year-old man has been formally charged with second-degree murder after a Winnipeg bus driver was stabbed to death at the University of Manitoba on Tuesday.
Irvine Jubal Fraser, 58, died after succumbing to his injuries in hospital shortly after the attack at 1:55 a.m.
Brian Kyle Thomas also faces charges of possession of a weapon and failing to comply with a probation order.
Police say Thomas was the only passenger on the bus when Fraser asked him to exit, as it was the end of the line. The suspect didn’t want to leave, so was forcefully escorted off the bus. Police say that’s when an altercation began outside of the vehicle, leading to the driver being stabbed several times in the upper body. Fraser collapsed on the pavement outside of the bus and the suspect took off across the nearby frozen Red River.
Police and the canine unit soon found Thomas on the river and arrested him. An officer who returned to the ice as part of the investigation fell through and had to be rescued. He wasn’t injured.
The Amalgamated Transit Union plans to hold a rally in Fraser’s honour on Friday at 10 a.m. at City Hall. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been launched to collect donations for the family.
