(Tim McLean, 22, of Winnipeg).
Tributes have started pouring in for the young man beheaded in Canada while traveling home on a bus.The Canadian Press named the dead man as Tim McLean, 22, of Winnipeg. McLean was repeatedly stabbed and then decapitated by the man sitting next to him on a Greyhound Canada bus Thursday west of Portage la Prairie in Manitoba.
Garnet Caton, who was sitting in front of McLean, talked of a "bloodcurdling scream" when the attack began. "It was like something between a dog howling and a baby crying, I guess you could say," Caton said. "I don't think it will leave me for a while."
Passengers exited the bus, and a trucker who stopped provided wrenches and crowbars to several of them so they could keep the suspect on the bus until police came, witnesses told Canadian TV.
The suspect was seized with the help of negotiators, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Steve Colwell said. . .
"He didn't do anything to provoke the guy. The guy just took a knife out and stabbed him, started stabbing him like crazy and cut his head off," said Garnet Caton, 26, a passenger on the Edmonton-to-Winnipeg bus.
"Some people were puking, some people were crying, other people were in shock. . . . Everybody was running, screaming off the bus. . ."
After the bus pulled over and the terrified passengers fled, Olmstead said the attacker was taunting those outside with the victim's severed head. "He came back, standing in the doorway with the head, looked at him, dropped the head and went back and started cutting buddy back up." He said when police showed up, the taunting continued.
"He come up and picks the head up and he's waving it in the window. I just smoked a cigarette with this man earlier - like, the head. He's shaking it back and forth in the window."
HS! Two-words: demon possession.
Sorry, my left-leaning friends but I'm voting for the death penalty for this perp. Sick. All the facts aren't in yet, but I'm sure we're all curious as to why no one stopped the guy from at least beheading Tim after stabbing him. Here's the rest of this pathetic story. Here's one of the Facebook groups honoring Tim. You can find more pictures of him there and his myspace page.
More info. here:
Witnesses said the victim got on the bus in Edmonton. His attacker came aboard in Brandon and sat away from the victim toward the front of the bus, they said. After a short cigarette break, however, the attacker moved his belongings and chose a seat beside the young man.Garnet Caton, who was sitting in the seat in front of the victim, said the young man was sleeping with his headphones on when he was attacked.
Caton said he heard a "blood-curdling scream" and turned around to see the attacker holding a large "Rambo" hunting knife above the victim, "continually stabbing him in the chest area."
Passengers fled"He must have stabbed him 50 times or 60 times," said Caton, who jumped out of his seat when he realized what was happening and began ushering passengers to the front of the bus.
As panicked passengers fled the bus, "the attacker was over top of the victim ... continually cutting him. I think the victim was gone at that point," Caton said.
Caton, the driver and a trucker who had stopped at the scene later boarded the vehicle to see if the victim was still alive.
"When we came back on the bus, it was visible at the end of the bus he was cutting the guy's head off and pretty much gutting him up," said Caton.
The attacker ran at them, Caton said, and they ran out of the bus, holding the door shut as he tried to slash at the trio.
When the attacker tried to drive the bus away, the driver disabled the vehicle, Caton said.
"While we were watching the door, he calmly walks up to the front with the head in his hand and the knife and just calmly stares at us and drops the head right in front of us," said Caton.
Another passenger, Cody Olmstead, said: "They did an awesome thing, holding him in there, because if not, what would have happened?"
RCMP crisis negotiators communicated with the suspect for several hours while he was on the bus. Around 1:30 a.m., he attempted to jump from a bus window and was subdued and arrested, RCMP said.
Police cruisers arrived about 10 minutes after the attack began, he estimated, and officers began directing passengers to school buses to take them to a hotel in Brandon.
Anthony, while I'm with you, I'm assuming you know Canada considers the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment. I'm not joking. And unless this guy is declared a dangerous offender under Canadian law, he'll only spend 25 years in prison (if that).
"demon possession" Ya think?
Yeah, Canada will probably just move to outlaw knives.
Canada law. Whew. I'm so angry and worked up about this story. I think I might need to go running or something.
I know what you mean. I mean, it must take considerable time to repeatedly stab somebody and then behead them. You would think ONE of the men on the bus would intervene and try to save the guy's life.
At risk of sounding arrogant and judgmental I hate the fact that everyone fled to leave this man to be finished off and carved up. I may turn out to be a coward when my time comes, but every time I read of a story like this, or of one of the many shootings where the cops show up way late and take no risks, I get really really disgusted.
We have all these stories in fiction in movies and books of people being brave, taking risks for
others, and being proactive to help. But then in real life everyone acts the opposite way.
Like I said, I haven't been tried yet, so I don't really have a right to speak. But I feel like not commenting on this worry would make it easier to do nothing if I were ever presented with an emergency.
Holy I just can't belive no one would help him. Theere were many(over 20 I think) passengers on that bus and only one attacker. Surely someone could have attacked the man welding the knife because like everyone says he was to busy to notice them while he stabbed Tim to death. I am quite angered that no one did a thign other then run off the bus cowering and just perventing the man from leaving. Also I do with here in Canada we had the death death penalty and there is no reason that we should have to pay to keep this man alive and in a prison(tax payers money). I say death to this man and that Canada should accept this punishment for crimes such as this.
Thallia, I absolutely agree with you. However, I have read that, with the extensive appeals process involved with capital cases, execution tends to cost more than life in prison. Either way, money really isn't the issue when it comes to administering justice. I'm also a Canadian - and yes, Canada used to have the death penalty. It's now been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. I don't see that changing, unfortunately.
I'm a Canadian too, and while there are many things I like about my country, its justice system is a joke. Enough else has been said in the comments to express my sentiments, so I'll leave it at that.
I have no idea.....why the heck did everyone sit around and just let this man brutally kill this young man.No one attept to help....i can't believe what i am hearing......are you serious....i guess when it comes down to it.....people are only worried about themselves....i am so mad....that this poor boy had to be murder viciously...and his mother has to hear....no one helped!
It seems, Delicia, that the typed of passengers who would be able to/moved to stop the guy were focused on getting the other passengers away from the crazy man with the knife. I wondered about why no one tried to stop him, too, but as I read the story, it would seem that when people realized what was happening, it was more important to get the other passengers to the front as it was too late to do anything for the young man. And unfortunately, the murderer will probably not get the justice he should. Good thing there's a far greater Judge.
Frankly, people can say what they like about not letting crazy people have guns, etc.... I would much rather be shot than stabbed with a Rambo knife. Seriously.
Yeah our justice system is a joke. I know for one in my family work is to do with it *sigh*. I could careless about the money if they kill him but to keep him alive to me is not right. Canada really needs to being back the death penalty for first degree/ seceond degree murders, most anyway like this one for exsample. Yet we the people have no say in these matters which also pisses me off.
Now back on topic.
All I can do now is hope this monster gets the max years and that his life in prison is hell. Also hoepful one in the prison gets to him and does the wold a favor. Yeah I sound heatless but he had no reason or right to do this and I would fear for my life as well as others if he was let out of prison for he could strike and kill again...I have been reading the updtaes on this and I am still in shock.
I will pray for Tim and for his family. It was such a senselss loss of life.
Thallia, when you said you hoped someone got to him in prison, I thought I saw where you were going. I was wrong. My hope is that someone gets to him in prison to let him know that while his Canadian judge may not sentence him to die, there is another Judge who will. He can be spared eternal punishment for this murder through the blood of Christ. He needs to know Him.
And yes, we should also be remembering this young man's family in our prayers as well.
I cannot comprehend this. How could no one have done anything to stop the attacker? All those people who filed by and did nothing...a bus full of people?! They could easily have taken the guy over. Grab a purse, a shoe, anything, throw it at the guy's head. What the hell? This is so disturbing. Stories like this make me lose faith in people. We are all so disconnected. It's like every man for himself. Where's our sense of camaraderie? Lend a helping hand, be a hero goddammit.
I am not really to the left on the death penalty issue. In a time here in the US where there seems to be a disproportionate amount of minorities being sentenced to death, I dont know that we have been exactly just in our judgement.
I have to admit however that this is the worst thing I have ever heard. One thing as believers we need to rememeber is that as much as the victims family needs to be reminded of God's love, the man who committed this crime needs the saving grace of Jesus just as much as any of us. Does he deserve it? Of course not, either do we... I believe that the power of the Holy Spirit can become a greater reality in his life than the power of Satan that appears to be ruling it now. As we pray for the victims family, lets rememeber to pray for the salvation and deliverance of this man as well. We need to take the time to do this when we pray for the salvation of Osama Bin Laden. Remember, none of us is deserving of Gods Love.... but God doesnt desire any of us to parish, but that ALL of us come to repentance.
Miles,
So are you saying that more non-minorities should be put to death? If the death penalty is a just punishment itself then we all should really be pushing for it to be exercised more often (i.e. more non-minorities need to get it as well).
But if that's not what you want, then the minority/non-minority statistics are pretty meaningless.
I'm sorry folks, but the poor lad was dead upon first thrust to his heart. He hadn't a chance.
The escaping passengers did have a chance and they were right to flee; containing the threat.
Whatever...So sad this is. I hope we're not too jaded anymore. This news is supposed to shake us to the core. Let this be the peak of human madness.
I read the story and not once did I think that 'no one did anything', on the contrary. I think what surprised me the most is that it wasn't a free-for-all where more people could have been hurt or killed. I know that I would not be in the mental condition to disable the bus like the drive did while all that was going on.
This was not a flight 93 situation where the passengers had time to process the information and organize a resistance. This was a 'Holy S^*%, that man has a knife and that man doesn't have a head' type thing. Kudos to the passenger for detaining the guy, I would say that they are heroes for that.
What was there to negotiate? He's in a window taunting people while holding a head in his hand!
How can you expect an unarmed passenger to fight against someone with a knife? Its not cowardice to run from someone with a knife while unarmed.
The Westboro Baptist Church announced that they're going to picket the funeral.
Great.
rober: What I read was the young man scremed(bloodied scrrem) so no he was not dead with the first thrut and even if he was someoen should have(or tried) stopped the man from beheaded Tim, cutting him up and then eating parts of him.
Jeff Kerr: Yeah I men that someone should kill him in prison if our system wont do justice. Sure no the way of god but then again not everyone has the same relgion, beleifs etc.
Keith: Well one thing the guy would pay no mind to the others so tackling would be nice then others coming to hold him down and beat the crap out of him if he resists. Ther are many ways to fight with no weapons and I have learned growing up that alot of things can be used as a weapon...even a womens purse.
Emily: Yeah I knwo what you mean. Heck I have already said I have lost my faith in people/mankind a long time ago because stuff like this keeps happening and our justice which is a prison term(max 25 I think) is to me like a slap on the wrist for some of these people.
Now I can say one thing thought. Glade no one else shared the same fate of Tim and I prase the others for keeping that man in the bus but still I wished they could have at least pervented the man from doing such things to Tims body.
The killer was probably psycho.
But the Westboro people should certainly get the death penalty for doing what they have done all these years? I mean, picketting funerals, doing the greatest disrespect the soldiers, and now picking fights with a whole (peaceful) nation all in the name of hate.
I believe society should have laws damning people like this to death. Letting these people roam the Earth and do more sick things like this would be not right. Death to WBC!
Im sorry, but when did this take place?
Im sure the attacker was touched by this guy, in an un-mannered kinda way, dont you think?