Victim stabbed by alleged ISIS supporter aboard B.C. bus says attack was unprovoked | 24CA News
The sufferer slashed within the neck by an alleged ISIS supporter aboard a transit bus in B.C. says the assault was unprovoked.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” the resident of Surrey, B.C., advised his household in textual content messages written from the hospital.
“There was absolutely no altercation or anything like that before he attacked,” mentioned the sufferer, who Global News will not be naming at his request.
The attacker “seemed a little off” when he boarded the bus in Surrey on Saturday morning, the person mentioned within the sequence of texts.
“He said nothing. Just thought he tripped, then I seen the knife. Then self-defence mode kicked in. Managed to push him off the bus.”
The assault left the sufferer with a reduce on his left facet, from the hairline in the back of his neck to his Adam’s apple, he wrote.
A supply confirmed the occasions depicted within the pictures of the texts, which had been offered by his brother-in-law Chris Jensen.
Text from sufferer of Surrey bus assault.
Handout
A suspect arrested on the scene, Abdul Aziz Kawam, has been charged with 4 counts of terrorism, alleging he performed the assault for ISIS.
The costs are primarily based on statements Kawam allegedly made shortly after the stabbing. He has additionally been charged with tried homicide.
A second sufferer was additionally allegedly attacked at a bus cease simply earlier than the stabbing. He allegedly additionally slashed at a person’s throat, however missed and the sufferer acquired away.
Kawam was scheduled to return to court docket on Wednesday.
Canada has skilled a number of low-level assaults impressed by ISIS. In 2019, a girl was convicted over an assault in a Toronto Canadian Tire retailer. Another ISIS supporter killed a girl with a hammer on a Toronto sidewalk in 2020.
Years later, ultraviolent ISIS ideology stays enticing for some. Last week, RCMP arrested an alleged Montreal ISIS supporter on a terrorism peace bond.
The weekend bus assault in B.C.’s Lower Mainland was depicted as an altercation till RCMP nationwide safety investigators took over on Sunday.
The costs in opposition to Kawam had been quickly upgraded to terrorism. “The amended charges relate to allegations the assaults were carried out for the Islamic State,” the RCMP mentioned.
A knife was seen on the bottom close to the Saturday’s knife assault on a bus in Surrey, B.C.
Global News
The sufferer whose neck was slashed was anticipated to be launched from hospital Tuesday, in response to his brother-in-law Jensen.
“He’s shaken up by it,” Jensen mentioned in an interview.
He mentioned the sufferer was an worker of a pet meals firm in his 30s who was operating errands when he was attacked.
On Saturday, he left to load his bus cross. He wasn’t gone lengthy earlier than the household was advised he had been stabbed and was being taken to hospital for surgical procedure.
They thought it was a merciless April Fool’s prank however then they noticed the news experiences concerning the knife assault on a close-by transit bus.
“He’s an unassuming guy, he’s shy, he’s quiet. He’s never had a negative word about anybody,” Jensen advised Global News.
“He’s overall just a nice guy who likes to come home from work, play video games with his friends,” he mentioned. “This shouldn’t happen to anybody, let alone him.”
He mentioned the sufferer had not talked about something concerning the attacker making feedback about ISIS.
“I don’t know what was going through his head,” Jensen mentioned.
The assault may have been worse had his brother-in-law not fought again, he mentioned. “I personally think he saved peoples’ lives that day, that he fought with that suspect and got him off the bus.”
Jensen has launched a GoFundMe marketing campaign to lift $2,000 to assist the sufferer get by till he can return to work.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
