Man, 67, stabbed on SkyTrain after bumping into other passenger, transit police say

Metro Vancouver Transit Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a suspect who allegedly stabbed a 67-year-old man on board a SkyTrain after a dispute over a seat.

The man had boarded an eastbound train at Scott Road station in Surrey, B.C., on Saturday shortly after 1 p.m. PT, a transit police statement said.

He accidently bumped into another male passenger when they both attempted to sit in the same seat, but he ignored the situation and moved to another part of the train, the statement said.

Police say the other male then allegedly approached the 67-year-old, pushed up close to his face and demanded an apology. The elder man then pushed the aggressor onto a nearby seat and attempted to hold him there when he felt a sharp side pain, the statement said.

"The victim looked down and allegedly saw that the suspect had a knife in his hand," it said.

The statement says the suspect ran off the train at Gateway station while the victim sought help from transit police, before he was taken to hospital to be treated for multiple stab wounds.

As of Monday evening, the victim was still in hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

"The details surrounding this attack are deeply concerning. The level of violence that this man used over something as mundane as being accidentally bumped into is shocking," said Const. Mike Yake.

Transit police say they are concerned the suspect could hurt someone else.

He is described as five feet, seven inches  tall, weighing approximately 130 pounds, with possibly a moustache or a goatee. He was wearing a black jacket with a dark hoodie pulled up over his head and grey pants and was carrying a leather satchel.

Anyone with any information about the identity of the suspect, or who may have witnessed the incident, is asked to contact Metro Vancouver Transit Police at 604-516-7419 or text 87-77-77.