20-year-old charged with 2nd-degree murder in Surrey bus homicide of Ethan Bespflug
CBC
Kaiden Mintenko of Burnaby has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 17-year-old Ethan Bespflug last week on a Surrey bus.
"Investigators are still working to determine the exact nature of the relationship between the two, but we can confirm this was not a random attack," said Sgt. Timothy Pierotti of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).
"They were known to each other through a third party."
Pierotti said Mintenko, 20, was arrested at a residence in Burnaby and is known to police. He said it took six days to take him into custody because police wanted to "ensure a safe arrest."
"We're still working to determine the motive. We're out speaking to as many witnesses as we can," he said.
Bespflug was stabbed while riding the 503 bus near the King George SkyTrain station where his mother says she was going to pick him up. He was taken to hospital in critical condition, where he died.
His mother realized something was wrong when she tracked her son's phone to the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.
Moments before he was stabbed, Bespflug texted her that he was scared because other people on the bus were threatening him, according to family.
Investigators says there is no connection to Bespflug's stabbing and other recent knife attacks on the public transit system.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police Chief Dave Jones said law enforcement agencies stepped up patrols of transit within hours of the killing.
"These will all be maintained as we look at long-term solutions," he said. "This is an anomaly, the number of events that have occurred of this nature on the transit system that moved hundreds of thousands of people a day."
Pierotti said police were still working to determine if other people were involved.
Lawyers for a man acquitted in a high-profile Toronto murder trial where a police officer was killed are holding a news conference Thursday to address a recent Ontario Provincial Police report that re-examines evidence from the trial.
Quebec provincial police arrested two men after a suspicious package grounded flights headed to Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport on Wednesday.
A nurse in Winnipeg says Canada's immigration system is undercutting efforts to address a shortage of health-care workers, after his application for permanent residency was rejected based on a technicality.
This year's provincial budget is "essentially" the status quo for wildfire preparation and response, the finance minister says.
Parts of B.C.'s coast continues to see heavy rain as Environment and Climate Change Canada warns of a prolonged atmospheric river this week.
Alberta teachers say they face increasingly dangerous conditions at school, with the most common threat coming from their own students.
Cataract surgeries at Charlottetown’s outpatient clinic are expected to resume in April, after procedures scheduled for March were cancelled due to the clinic reaching its annual funding target earlier than expected.
Shannon Elgazzar can see planes taking off from Cairo International Airport from her balcony.
Yellowknife city council has voted in favour of signing an agreement with the federal government that's aimed at bringing piped water and sewer service to the city's airport.
While Canada's economy is far more reliant on exports to the U.S. than vice versa, Canadian negotiators have crucial ammunition in their efforts to land a trade deal that reduces or eliminates tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Nova Scotia PC MLA Rick Burns says he and his wife are victims of blackmail after hackers accessed and shared videos and intimate images on his personal devices this week.
The Saint John Board of Police Commissioners and Chief Robert Bruce have lost a bid to permanently deny public access to all court documents related to conduct complaints nine officers filed against the chief.
With the looming October election, Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard has delivered a modest budget as the province aims to withstand ongoing trade disruptions and mounting geopolitical pressure.