The Surrey teen who was fatally stabbed on a bus in Whalley on Tuesday night reportedly was riding home from a friendsa国际传媒檚 house and had texted his mom that he was being threatened by sa国际传媒渟ome kidssa国际传媒� and was scared.

sa国际传媒淓than was a young, bright loved boy, unarmed and now his mother will forever be waiting for him to get off that bus,sa国际传媒� a GoFundMe page set up by his aunt Andrea Van Der Gracht reads, seeking help to cover the teensa国际传媒檚 funeral costs.

Ethan Bespflug, 17, died in hospital from his injuries after being stabbed on a bus in the 9900-block of King George Boulevard at 9:28 p.m. on April 11. Police have not yet identified a suspect.

sa国际传媒淗e texted his mom and said theresa国际传媒檚 some kids threatening me and Isa国际传媒檓 scared, and that was the last text that he got out,sa国际传媒� his aunt, Andrea Van Der Gracht, told Global News. sa国际传媒淗e was a good kid. He had four younger sisters and brothers. He worked, he went to school, he got good grades, he wasnsa国际传媒檛 in trouble, he wasnsa国际传媒檛 a bad kid. The fact that he ended up in this situation is horrible. And it could be any of our kids now. You know, sitting on a bus, just going to meet your mom, shouldnsa国际传媒檛 mean yousa国际传媒檙e going to lose your life.sa国际传媒�

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has taken conduct of the case. Bespflug is Surreysa国际传媒檚 fifth homicide victim so far this year and was the second stabbing on a bus in Surrey this month. The first victim survived.

sa国际传媒淚 think the story out of Surrey is every parentsa国际传媒檚 worst nightmare,sa国际传媒� Premier David Eby said of the fatal stabbing. sa国际传媒淭ransit needs to be safe and accessible for kids, for seniors, for everybody. I understand that the Surrey RCMP and the Transit Police increased patrols and presence on Surrey Transit. Isa国际传媒檝e asked the minister for public safety to reach out to transit authorities and to police authorities to see if there is any other tools or resources that they need to ensure safety on our transit system for everybody.

sa国际传媒淭his is an absolutely horrific incident,sa国际传媒� Eby noted.

sa国际传媒淭his is a profoundly concerning incident.sa国际传媒�

Tuesdaysa国际传媒檚 stabbing happened on a Route 503 bus eastbound from King George Station. Cpl. Vanessa Munn, of the Surrey RCMP, said police have no reason to suspect Tuesdaysa国际传媒檚 stabbing was sa国际传媒渋n any way connectedsa国际传媒� to a mansa国际传媒檚 throat being slashed sa国际传媒� also on a Route 503 sa国际传媒� bus at Fraser Highway and 148 Street on April 1. That earlier stabbing resulted in the suspect, Abdul Aziz Kawam, being charged with four terrorism-related offences, with Kawam accused of committing the crime on behalf of the Islamic State otherwise known as ISIS.

So far two GoFundMe campaigns been been set up for Bespflug seeking donations to help with his funeral expenses.

sa国际传媒淓than just turned 17 years old he had so much life ahead of him, a good kid, a kind kid a loving brother, son, grandson, uncle, friend, he always helped with his siblings always told his family how much he loves us, he would give the shirt off his back to anyone that needed it,sa国际传媒� a set up by another aunt, Daphni Miller, reads. So far 79 donors have contributed $5,218 toward a sa国际传媒�$10,000 goal.

A , set up by Van Der Gracht seeking donations to sa国际传媒渉elp lay Ethan to rest,sa国际传媒� has so far received $6,146 from 81 donors toward a $7,500 goal.

sa国际传媒淚n a time when we are constantly being bombarded by sadness and death everywhere,sa国际传媒� her campaign page reads, sa国际传媒渨e have lost one of our own. Ethan was a son and a brother who was senselessly murdered when he was supposed to be safe. Our fears of sending our children out into the world are becoming more and more prevalent in our daily lives. We are not supposed to fear our children going to school, we are not supposed to fear our children going home from school. Our children are dying, and gun violence and threats of violence are everywhere. In times like this families and communities need to come together to help everyone. Ethan did not deserve this. He woke up and went to school in the morning and never came back.

sa国际传媒淧lease donate to help lay Ethan to rest. In a time of tragedy help us come together as a community to help a family in need. Help them know that there is still good in the world. There will be peace again, and love and peace will prevail. Ethan was a young, bright loved boy, unarmed and now his mother will forever be waiting for him to get off that bus.sa国际传媒�

Meantime, police ask anyone with information about Tuesdaysa国际传媒檚 fatal stabbing to call investigators on the IHIT information line 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

Const. Amanda Steed, spokeswoman for Metro Vancouver Transit Police, said uniformed officers assigned several units have been pulled from their regular duties have been assigned to buses and SkyTrain in Surrey. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e trying to saturate the system with a visible presence. Wesa国际传媒檝e also taken our detectives who work in a crime-suppression team sa国际传媒� theysa国际传媒檙e in a plainclothes capacity so you might not see them but they are there sa国际传媒� wesa国际传媒檝e taken them from their day-to-day duties and put them in hot spots where wesa国际传媒檝e identified where people arensa国际传媒檛 feeling safe,sa国际传媒� she told the Now-Leader.

As for both stabbings happening on a Route 503 bus, Steed said she doesnsa国际传媒檛 know if thatsa国际传媒檚 a coincidence. sa国际传媒淎ll of the stabbings that have occurred and slashings that have occurred theysa国际传媒檙e not connected in any way, theresa国际传媒檚 no evidence to suggest that theysa国际传媒檙e connected. But does that say that maybe the 503 is a route that we might need to look at a little but closer and perhaps improve our presence on that route? Absolutely.sa国际传媒�

On Wednesday night, she said, police officers were on the 503 sa国际传媒渢o help address that.sa国际传媒�

Whatsa国际传媒檚 fueling recent violence is a question for the age.

sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 understand whatsa国际传媒檚 happening, this is so abnormal, this is not normal, and we looked at other provinces who are having issues like this, with violence and weapons, and we were always lucky that that wasnsa国际传媒檛 happening to us but now for some reason in the last couple of weeks the world has just lost it,sa国际传媒� Steed said.

Bigger, more complex issues are at play, she suggests, sa国际传媒渘ot necessarily just a policing issue, where this violence is coming from.

sa国际传媒淲e have to ask ourselves, what has brought these people to this spot? Why are they in this position, why are they exhibiting more violence and using more weapons that they have in the past? And I think it has a lot to do with mental health, and the drug crisis, and social housing crisis. I also think COVID also had a huge impact, we were isolated for so long. People are struggling right now, people who are already on the edge of a mental health break, theysa国际传媒檝e completely gone over the edge, and even people who didnsa国际传媒檛 suffer from any type of mental health before, theysa国际传媒檙e struggling.

sa国际传媒淧eople are really on edge.sa国际传媒�

As for the suspect in Bespflugsa国际传媒檚 case, Steed noted, the buses are equipped with sa国际传媒渞eally great CCTV, and video cameras in the stations as well, so I donsa国际传媒檛 think it will be long before IHIT identifies a suspect in that case but at this moment he has not been arrested.sa国际传媒�

tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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