Kaiden Mintenko, 20, of Burnaby has been charged with second-degree murder in the Surrey stabbing death of 17-year-old Ethan Bespflug, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team announced Monday (April 17).
Ethan died in hospital after being stabbed April 11 while riding the Route 503 bus in the 9900-block of King George Boulevard. He was reportedly riding home from a friendB次元官网网址檚 house and had texted his mom that he was being threatened by B次元官网网址渟ome kidsB次元官网网址� and was scared.
Police said at a presser on Monday, at BC RCMP Headquarters in Green Timbers, that the stabbing was a targeted attack and not a random one. IHIT said the suspect and victim knew each other through a third party.
Mintenko is in custody. He was arrested at a residence in Burnaby on April 16. His next appearance in Surrey provincial court is set for May 8.
B次元官网网址淭he individual who was arrested does have an association to the deceased,B次元官网网址� Sgt. Tim Pierotti, of IHIT, said, adding the suspect is known to police. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e still working to determine exactly what the nature of the relationship is between them.B次元官网网址�
Ethan is SurreyB次元官网网址檚 fifth homicide victim so far this year.
B次元官网网址淚t does come as a shock to me,B次元官网网址� EthanB次元官网网址檚 mom Holly Indridson said of the arrest and charge. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e never heard his name around, only just I guess the girlfriendB次元官网网址檚 name of the guy, the man thatB次元官网网址檚 charged. ThereB次元官网网址檚 always been a little bit of a bullying situation I guess the man charged and the girlfriend, like the girlfriend would bully my son.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚 am quite in shock. I didnB次元官网网址檛 think, you know sometimes bullying you donB次元官网网址檛 think itB次元官网网址檚 going to take it so far as to murder.B次元官网网址�
She said sheB次元官网网址檚 pleased the suspect remains in custody. B次元官网网址淣o other family should have to through this pain,B次元官网网址� Indridson told the Now-Leader.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 glad that they worked on it so quickly, IB次元官网网址檓 so thankful for them, the detectives that were working on this. They were very sincere and sympathetic.B次元官网网址�
Indridson, 38, has joined a club nobody wants to belong to, as yet another parent whoB次元官网网址檚 lost a beloved child to mindless violence in Surrey.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been through so many losses and this one, itB次元官网网址檚 crushed my will to live but I have to live, you know,B次元官网网址� she said.
Before the night he was killed, when he texted that he was scared and threatened by other passengers, Ethan had never complained about riding bus or SkyTrain.
B次元官网网址淗im and his friend would take the bus and SkyTrain, theyB次元官网网址檇 take it downtown, theyB次元官网网址檇 go to Brentwood Mall, theyB次元官网网址檇 go to Metrotown, they utilized it so they could explore their surroundings and their world you know, as teenagers would. I donB次元官网网址檛 think at any time he felt unsafe and for this to happen on the busB次元官网网址�,B次元官网网址� Indridson, an Abbotsford resident, trails off.
Authorities from Premier David Eby on down have expressed outrage at her sonB次元官网网址檚 homicide and have promised enhanced police patrols on public transit in its wake.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 hoping that they can put more security,B次元官网网址� Indridson says of this. B次元官网网址淲hen I was younger, there was a security guard or a transit police on the bus itself, when I was like 17.
B次元官网网址淚 thought there would be a lot more,B次元官网网址� she says.
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn vented about the crime during an unrelated presser in Surrey on Friday,
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 angry, weB次元官网网址檙e really angry, IB次元官网网址檓 very frustrated, IB次元官网网址檓 bothered by these events and as a parent of two transit-riding kids, every single day, I am concerned,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e will not allow criminals or those who want to commit crimes to come onto our system.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l say as a father, I will say I was particularly shocked regarding the fatal stabbing of a teenager aboard one of our buses and our sincere condolences are with that young manB次元官网网址檚 family,B次元官网网址� Quinn said.
B次元官网网址淥ur Transit Police have already stepped up patrols in crime hot spots and the forthcoming 24 community safety officers will allow police to further focus their efforts on criminal activity. WeB次元官网网址檙e always looking for new ways to improve safety on transit and I want to emphasize that if anyone feels unsafe on our system they should immediately text Transit Police at any time at 87-7777.B次元官网网址�
Indridson says two GoFundMe campaigns will help her surviving children and help put Ethan to rest. By press time, one set up by her sister-in-law Andrea Van Der Gracht had already raised $23,895 and one by another aunt, Daphni Miller, had raised $23,370.
B次元官网网址淭he outpouring of support and just people that are messaging me that are just, I donB次元官网网址檛 know them, but other mothers that are messaging me, the family, the friends, people I havenB次元官网网址檛 talked to since high school, itB次元官网网址檚 just amazing how communities come together but I just wish it wasnB次元官网网址檛 under these circumstances,B次元官网网址� Indridson said. B次元官网网址淚 can feel it and I know Ethan is smiling down because that itB次元官网网址檚 what he would want in this type of situation, for his family not to feel alone and feel love and support.B次元官网网址�
Her younger children B次元官网网址渁re devastated.
B次元官网网址淢y kids were all very close, they got along well, thereB次元官网网址檚 very large age gaps between some of them. They connected in such a way that to me it was magical watching them together and Ethan was the largest piece of the puzzle.B次元官网网址�
Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards, officer in charge of the Surrey RCMP, offered his condolences to EthanB次元官网网址檚 friends and family.
B次元官网网址淎s being the parent of a teenager myself this is absolutely heartbreaking,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎fter all these years of being a police officer I still struggle with the senselessness of certain crimes. This is one of those crimes.B次元官网网址�
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke at Monday nightB次元官网网址檚 council meeting also conveyed her B次元官网网址渄eepest condolences.
B次元官网网址淎s a mom, I cannot imagine the pain EthanB次元官网网址檚 family is going through,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚n addition to an increased police and security presence on transit, we are looking to arrange sustainable and long-term solutions. I will be reaching out to the premier, solicitor general and minister of health to ask for additional resources in policing and to make better use of technology to deter these crimes and identify the perpetrators.B次元官网网址�
Meantime, Surrey RCMP said police have no reason to suspect EthanB次元官网网址檚 stabbing was B次元官网网址渋n any way connectedB次元官网网址� to a manB次元官网网址檚 throat being slashed B次元官网网址� also on a Route 503 bus B次元官网网址� at Fraser Highway and 148 Street on April 1. That 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.
Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards, in charge of the Surrey RCMP, on what police are doing about violence on public transit.
B次元官网网址� Tom Zytaruk (@tomzytaruk)
Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth told reporters in Victoria thereB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渁 number of things under wayB次元官网网址� to crack down in violence on public transit.
B次元官网网址淥n Friday my director of police services met a number of times with the police agencies, the RCMP, Transit Police and other police agencies in the Lower Mainland in terms of identifying are there additional resources required, what actions are needed,B次元官网网址� Farnworth said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 my expectation to see an increased policing presence on our transit system.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭his is an issue that is plaguing transit systems across the country,B次元官网网址� Farnworth said.
Shirley Bond, of the British Columbia United Party (formerly BC Liberal Party), slammed the NDP government.
B次元官网网址淲ell, no amount of patting themselves on the back will bring comfort today to a family whose son was on a bus and didnB次元官网网址檛 get home,B次元官网网址� Bond said.
B次元官网网址淭his Premier needs to stand up and acknowledge that people in British Columbia today are tired of the empty words. What they want is a Premier that will acknowledge the fact that they are afraid to take a bus in British Columbia. Who can possibly imagine that?B次元官网网址�
On Saturday a 20-year-old man was stabbed at Surrey Central SkyTrain Station, making it the third stabbing on public transit in Surrey in three weeks. Transit Police Chief Officer Dave Jones said there are no B次元官网网址渃ommonalities or linkagesB次元官网网址� between any of these cases.
B次元官网网址淢y emphasis here is this is an anomaly, the number of events that have occurred of this type of nature on the transit system. It moves hundreds of thousands of people every day,B次元官网网址� Jones said. B次元官网网址淭here was no commonality between all of the events that have occurred, the separate incidents that have occurred.B次元官网网址�
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. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e trying to saturate the system with a visible presence. WeB次元官网网址檝e also taken our detectives who work in a crime-suppression team B次元官网网址� theyB次元官网网址檙e in a plainclothes capacity so you might not see them but they are there B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檝e taken them from their day-to-day duties and put them in hot spots where weB次元官网网址檝e identified where people arenB次元官网网址檛 feeling safe,B次元官网网址� she told the Now-Leader.
As for two of the stabbings happening on a Route 503 bus, Steed said she doesnB次元官网网址檛 know if thatB次元官网网址檚 a coincidence. B次元官网网址淎ll of the stabbings that have occurred and slashings that have occurred theyB次元官网网址檙e not connected in any way, thereB次元官网网址檚 no evidence to suggest that theyB次元官网网址檙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.B次元官网网址�
WhatB次元官网网址檚 fueling this recent violence is a question for the age.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 understand whatB次元官网网址檚 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 wasnB次元官网网址檛 happening to us but now for some reason in the last couple of weeks the world has just lost it,B次元官网网址� Steed said.
Bigger, more complex issues are at play, she suggests, B次元官网网址渘ot necessarily just a policing issue, where this violence is coming from.
B次元官网网址淲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, theyB次元官网网址檝e completely gone over the edge, and even people who didnB次元官网网址檛 suffer from any type of mental health before, theyB次元官网网址檙e struggling.
B次元官网网址淧eople are really on edge.B次元官网网址�
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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