SURREY — Police arrested a 21-year-old man of no fixed address near Scott Road SkyTrain station Tuesday afternoon after a young woman was stalked and threatened with a knife aboard the train.
Transit Police spokeswoman Anne Drennan said that after the victim boarded a SkyTrain at Waterfront Station shortly after 3 p.m., the woman noticed a man with a bloody hand “who was staring intently at her.â€
Drennan said the man fiddled with a knife with an eight-inch blade while staring at the woman.
“She moved several times to distance herself from the man but he followed closely behind her.â€
The woman tried to get off at Columbia Station in New Westminster, but this guy wouldn’t let her. “Other passengers used the safety alarms on the train and texted Transit Police to seek help,†Drennan said. “As the train reached Scott Road station, frightened passengers all got off the train, including the young woman. The suspect also got off at this location.â€
Drennan said he tried to stop a bus leaving the loop and chucked a bottle of liquor in the air. “Three observant passengers chased and tackled him, holding him until police arrived shortly afterward,†she said.
Drennan said the woman was "extremely traumatized" and offered help from Victims Services. "Events such as this are rare on our transit system," Drennan said. "While we would never recommend that citizens put themselves at risk we commend the actions of numerous witnesses to these offences for their actions in assisting both the victim and the police."
Melvin Estuardo Ascon Carias, 21, has been charged with forcible confinement, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He is expected to appear in Surrey provincial court today (Friday).
Drennan noted Carias was convicted in December on two counts of assault with a weapon and was on probation when he was arrested Tuesday. His conditions were not to possess or carry any weapons, not to ride SkyTrain and not to drink alcohol, Drennan noted.
tom.zytaruk@thenownewspaper.com