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Suspect arrested in bus stabbing

A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an attack on a bus passenger in Aldergrove.
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Police tape surrounds a Coast Mountain bus on Tuesday evening

A 19-year-old Surrey man will appear in court later today to face charges in connection with the attempted strangulation of a bus driver, and the stabbing of a passenger.

Langley RCMP spokesman Cpl. Holly Marks said that the man was arrested shortly after midnight this morning (Thursday) at his Surrey home. He did not resist arrest.

Police from Langley, Surrey and the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team took part in the apprehension.

The arrest was made possible after a Langley Mountie recognized the man from surveillance footage provided by TransLink.

The suspect is known to police, Marks said.

Marks added that police obtained a search warrant to look for potential evidence in the man's home. She declined to say if any items were seized.

The man is believed to be the same person who attempted to strangle a Coast Mountain Bus driver in Surrey on Saturday morning, Feb. 18.

The stabbing occurred at around 5 p.m. near Aldergrove Centre Mall,  272 Street and Fraser Highway. The victim was airlifted to hospital but was expected to be released within a day or two.

The incident in Surrey occurred at King George Boulevard near 76 Avenue on a southbound 321 bus heading from Surrey Central station to White Rock.

The driver had asked a young man to move down the bus as he was standing too close to the windshield. According to Gavin Davies, vice-president of Local 111 of  the Canadian Auto Workers union, the young man complied without objection, but at a later stop grabbed the driver "with both hands around the throat and started choking him."

The driver was in shock and did not fight back. The assailant suddenly let go and bolted off the bus.

Davies said that the driver was not physically injured but assaults of this nature can inflict mental trauma.

In Metro Vancouver last year, bus drivers were assaulted 146 times, an increase of 21 per cent over 2010.