In Canada???

[aileen_c]

I was perusing the news doing some research for a friend when I came across this. WOW! How horrible...

http://www.azfamily.com/news/homepa...-national-news-073108-bus-attack.145e552.html

 

[Beth]

OMG, how unspeakably horrible!!

 

[Victoria]

Yes Aileen, there is violence everywhere. This particular horrific "incident", is not the norm for Canada. My heart hurts for this poor boy and his family.

V


Family of beheaded Manitoba man says he loved travel, meeting people

By Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG - A young man killed in a seemingly random attack aboard a Greyhound bus in Manitoba was a charmer who loved meeting people and saw the good in everyone, his family said Saturday, as they were still reeling not only from losing the 22-year-old, but from the horror of the way he died.


Tim McLean's family described the young carnival worker as a kind soul and a free spirit.


"Tim spent his life travelling and meeting new people and always saw the good in everyone," Alex McLean, Tim McLean's uncle, said, reading from a statement on behalf of the family.


"He was a little guy with a heart bigger than you could know."


Despite their struggle to cope with Tim McLean's gruesome death and intense media attention, the family is grateful for all the support they have received and overwhelmed by the outpouring even from complete strangers, Alex McLean said.


He said his nephew made friends effortlessly and accepted everyone for who they were.


"He had the most infectious giggle," he said.


"You could hear him laughing a mile away. It didn't matter what kind of a day you were having, because when you heard him laugh, you couldn't help but join in."


It was the first time the family commented publicly on the death since horrified passengers on a bus Wednesday from Edmonton to Winnipeg told of seeing Tim McLean knifed to death and decapitated.


Also Saturday, a chilling recording of a radio transmission between RCMP officers responding to the killing received widespread attention on the Internet.


On the recording, one officer describes the suspect - who police code-named Badger - moving around the bus, which was barricaded by the driver and a passenger.


"Badger is armed with a knife and a pair of scissors and he is defiling the body at the front of the bus as we speak," an officer says on the transmission.


The approximately 80-second recording was posted on several websites, including YouTube, where it had registered more than 9,300 hits before it was made unavailable early Saturday afternoon.


The RCMP issued a news release stressing they had not given permission to use the transmission as they are "operational police communications and as such are not meant for public consumption. "


"Okay, Badger's at the back of the bus, hacking off pieces and eating it," the transmission ends.


Witnesses said McLean was attacked, unprovoked and without warning, by a man sitting next to him who had not uttered a word.


They described how McLean was stabbed dozens of times as the driver ushered passengers off the bus and barricaded the door shut so the attacker couldn't escape.

Alone in the bus, the attacker carved up McLean's body and later came to the front of the bus holding McLean's severed head, two witnesses reported.

Police have only confirmed McLean was stabbed but have not released details of the horrifying killing.

Police laid a charge of second-degree murder this week against a suspect, Vince Weiguang Li, 40, of Edmonton.

Li made his first appearance in court Friday and is scheduled to be back before a judge in Portage la Prairie on Tuesday.

Li did not enter a plea to the charges, which haven't been proven in court, and had not retained a lawyer to represent him.

Li's employer said in an interview Saturday that he was shocked to learn that his "model employee" had been accused of the grisly attack. Vincent Augert, an independent contractor who distributes newspapers in Edmonton, said that Li was one of his most reliable carriers.

"He was very punctual and always cleanly dressed," Augert said. "He was a very nice, polite guy."

Augert said that Li called him two weeks ago saying that he needed a day or two off to go to Winnipeg for a job interview at the end of July. He said he called him back and left him a message asking him for the dates he needed off but never heard back from him.

"That was unusual for him not to call back and then when he didn't show up for work on Tuesday we got worried," said Augert.

Augert said he called Li's cellphone on Thursday and his wife answered. She told him that she had not heard from Li either, and that he had said he had to leave for a family emergency a few days ago.

"And then when I found out in the news that Li was being pinned for the brutal attack, I was in utter shock," he said.

As the police investigation continues, the online forums that sprouted shortly after the tragedy have transformed into a sprawling online community, with tens of thousands showing support for McLean's family and expressing disgust for the act itself.

One of the many groups on the social networking site Facebook has accumulated over 40,000 members with more than 2,000 wall posts.

"I never knew Tim and his family, but I wish all the best in this awful time," wrote Tamara from Edmonton.

Tracy in Calgary called McLean's death "a senseless loss of life."

"It's something right out of a horror movie," added Sheena in Edmonton.

Some news coverage videos on YouTube have received upwards of 40,000 hits, and a number of people have weighed on the issue, publishing webcam video of themselves trying to deal with what happened.

McLean's uncle said the support had helped the family.

"The outpouring of well-wishes from complete strangers has been overwhelming," he said.

"The family appreciates all the love and support from friends, loved ones and the public nationwide."

In Dallas, Greyhound spokesperson Abby Wambaugh said ridership is remaining stable despite the tragedy.

"As of right now we've seen little to no impact on ticket sales and inter-city bus travel continues to be a safe way to travel," said Wambaugh in a phone interview.

She said she couldn't comment on how the bus driver is faring, citing privacy reasons, but stressed that in the case of a violent passenger, the driver handled the situation by the book.

"They are taught to immediately pull over the bus and call the authorities," said Wambaugh.

"The bus driver did exactly what our policy states."

 

[aileen_c]

What I wanna know is why? Why did this guy flip out like this and do this to that poor guy? I'm sure lots of people are wondering the same thing....it's just so awful.

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

Because some people are just flat out crazy.
Sounds like he ran out of his meds to me. And I'm not being cute, I'm very serious in saying that.

 

[Victoria]

Because some people are just flat out crazy.
Sounds like he ran out of his meds to me. And I'm not being cute, I'm very serious in saying that.

You may be right Shannon. There are no answers at the moment. The accused didn't speak in court... he only nodded his head.

V


Suspect called friendly, reliable employee
Article Comments JOSH WINGROVE

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

August 1, 2008 at 10:33 PM EDT

It was last summer when Vince Weiguang Li first gave Vincent Augert a call.

Mr. Li was responding to an advertisement for Vinco Newspaper Distribution, a company contracted to deliver newspapers in Edmonton. He was looking for part-time work to supplement his income from another job at a local McDonald's restaurant.He got the job, delivering to homes in the city's northeast end.

Mr. Li was a “quiet” man who spoke quickly, often making his English difficult to understand, Mr. Augert, 42, remembered. But he was friendly and a reliable employee.

Mr. Li, 40, showed up dutifully in the wee hours each morning for 13 months.

“He just came, picked up his papers, didn't talk to anybody. Picked up his papers, and did his things,” Mr. Augert said.

In early July, he asked Mr. Augert for a day off at the end of the month, for a job interview.

“ …He indicated he'd need a day off at the end of the month, and he had to go to Winnipeg for an interview, and he would get back to me when he knew the day.”

He didn't get back to Mr. Augert. Then came Monday, the last day Mr. Li showed up for work. On Tuesday, wondering where his trustworthy employee had disappeared to, Mr. Augert called his cellphone. A woman called back saying she was Mr. Li's wife.

“Monday morning he picked up his newspapers, and that was it. He picked up his newspapers, and fell off the face of the earth,” Mr. Augert said.

Mr. Li didn't show up Wednesday or Thursday, the same day reports of a gruesome attack aboard an eastbound Edmonton-to-Winnipeg Greyhound bus began to surface. Thursday evening, Mr. Augert spoke again with the woman he believed to be Mrs. Li. “She basically just said that she didn't know where he was, and that he had told her he'd left out of town on an emergency,” Mr. Augert said.

Throughout Thursday, the bus investigation progressed. A man was thought to have stabbed another man dozens of times.

Mr. Augert and his fellow newspaper distributors recognized the name and photo of the alleged killer the next day, and couldn't believe it was the Mr. Li they'd worked with.

“It was just a total shock. I would have never thought this would ever happen,” Mr. Augert said. “There was nothing to believe or suggest that he would have it in him to do something like this.”

Mr. Li appeared in court Friday, his feet shackled, not uttering a word. His wife couldn't be reached for comment.

 

[Connie]

There are no words.........