Man arrested and charged in string of violent 'hockey check' assaults on public transit

A series of attacks in Surrey, B.C., last month has ended in an arrest and several charges against a 44-year-old suspect who transit police say violently "hockey checked" his victims.

In a statement Wednesday, Metro Vancouver Transit Police say the first of three incidents took place April 9, at around 8 p.m., when the suspect entered the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station where he allegedly bodychecked a train attendant.

The victim described the assault as a hockey check, which is an offensive player move that uses the hip or shoulder to collide violently with another player.

On April 14, at around 4:30 p.m., the suspect allegedly attacked a transit rider using a similar bodycheck as the victim got off a train at the Scott Road station. 

In this instance, the victim was hit so violently that he was thrown to the ground, the statement said.

3rd victim choked, rendered unconscious

Then, on April 17, just before 8 p.m., the suspect allegedly shoulder-checked another victim who was using a Compass card vending machine, before leaving the Gateway Skytrain Station.

Police say the suspect then tried to start a fight by striking him on the chest and yelling "hit me."

When the victim and his girlfriend tried to leave, the suspect blocked their path, then grabbed the victim's backpack as the couple tried to run, the statement said.

The suspect was able to wrap his arm around the victim's neck and choke him until he lost consciousness, it said.

The 44-year-old, who is known to police, remains in custody and is facing several charges including two counts of assault and one count of assault by choking.

"A traumatic event like this can have a lasting, negative psychological impact on any person. The suspect's alleged actions could have had dire consequences for the victims and were completely abhorrent," said Sgt. Clint Hampton.