Two seriously injured after stabbing on city bus in Pleasant Hill

A 20-year-old man and 15-year-old girl were hospitalized on Thursday night after a stabbing on a Saskatoon Transit bus in the city’s Pleasant Hill neighbourhood.

According to police, officers were called to the area of 20th Street West and Avenue N South at around 10:30 p.m. after getting a report about the attack on a city bus.

“Upon arrival, officers found a 20-year-old man suffering from what was believed to be a serious but non-life-threatening stab wound,” the Saskatoon Police Service said in a statement. “He was transported to hospital by paramedics for treatment of his injury.”

Police said the investigation determined that an altercation took place on the bus leading to the stabbing, and two people had taken off on foot. Officers caught up with two people matching the descriptions on 20th Street West, and found that one of them was also injured.

“Upon making contact, officers found the 15-year-old female to be suffering from what were believed to be multiple serious but non-life-threatening stab wounds,” police said. “She was transported to hospital by paramedics for treatment of her injuries.”

The investigation remains ongoing, police said, and the case is in the hands of the Serious Assault Unit.

The case marks the second stabbing on a Saskatoon Transit bus this month. On May 1, an 18-year-old man was hospitalized after he was stabbed while riding a bus at the corner of Broadway Avenue and 12th Street East.

The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents bus drivers in Saskatoon, raised the alarm last month about increasing rates of violence among bus passengers.

Community support officers will soon be riding some buses in the city to offer increased security on the routes where violence occurs most frequently. That program is expected to begin in July.

Last year, more than 100 city buses were equipped with barriers to help protect drivers from assault.