Family "lost for words" after death of 17-year-old stabbed on Surrey bus
A 17-year-old who died after he was stabbed on board a bus in Surrey is being remembered as a “young, bright loved boy.”
According to an online fundraiser to support his family, the boy has been identified as Ethan Bespflug.
On Tuesday at 9:30 pm, Mounties were called to King George Boulevard and 100th Avenue for reports of an assault with a weapon.
The victim was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he later died.
Police said initial information suggests the incident was targeted and isolated.
Flowers for the 17-year-old stabbing victim. (Nikitha Martins/Daily Hive)
One of Bespflug’s aunts, Daphni Miller, who created a GoFundMe, said he was her first nephew.
“Last night I got the most terrifying phone call from my sister saying that she has lost her son,” Miller’s Facebook post reads. “The most amazing little man.”
“He always helped with his siblings, always told his family how much he loves us, he would give the shirt off his back to anyone that needed it,” she continued to write in the fundraiser. [We are] lost for words.”
Miller says Bespflug was a loving brother, son, grandson, uncle, and friend.
A separate GoFundMe has been created by Andrea Van Der Gracht who’s collected over $9,000 — surpassing its goal of $7,500 in just 24 hours.
“Our fears of sending our children out into the world are becoming more and more prevalent in our daily lives. We are not supposed to fear our children going to school, we are not supposed to fear our children going home from school. Our children are dying, and gun violence and threats of violence are everywhere,” the GoFundMe reads.
“In times like this families and communities need to come together to help everyone. Ethan did not deserve this. He woke up and went to school in the morning and never came back.”
Both fundraisers have been created to help cover expenses for the family.
“Ethan was a young, bright loved boy, unarmed, and now his mother will forever be waiting for him to get off that bus,” Van Der Gracht added.
Nikitha Martins/Daily Hive
Daily Hive has reached out to Daphni Miller and Andrea Van Der Gracht.