“Did not deserve this”: Family fundraises for Surrey bus throat-slashing victim

The family of a man who was attacked by a knife-wielding stranger aboard a transit bus in Surrey has organized an online fundraiser for his recovery.

Christopher Jensen, the brother-in-law of the victim, is trying to raise $2,000 to help the victim cover his bills while he takes time off work after the devastating attack.

“He is a great guy who did not deserve this, and neither did his family,” Jensen wrote.

The victim was taking the bus on Saturday morning, his day off work, to reload his Compass Card, when the attacker boarded the bus, Jensen wrote. The victim noticed the man appear to fall, and when he looked over he saw the attacker was carrying a knife.

The victim apparently forced the assailant off the bus, which the family believes could have potentially saved others.

But during the skirmish, the attacker slashed the victim across the throat, according to Metro Vancouver Transit Police spokesperson Const. Amanda Steed.

The victim was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, and was still there at the time Jensen created the GoFundMe.

Jensen wrote that his brother-in-law is a blue-collar worker who’s also taking care of his ageing father. He’ll need to take time off work because of the injury, and since it’s not a workplace injury, he does not have any insurance to fall back on or coverage for his physiotherapy appointments.

“This falls on him during a hard time of him and his family whom he lives with currently recovering from a Christmas morning flood that is still affecting his home life as we do repairs,” Jensen wrote.

The victim does not want his name or photo released, and Jensen asked the public to respect that. Daily Hive has reached out to Jensen for further comment.

Abdul Aziz Kawam is facing attempted murder and terrorism charges in connection with the April 1 attack.

“The investigation has determined that concerning comments were made by the suspect, which is why the BC RCMP were contacted by Transit Police,” Steed said.

Police have not yet said what terror organization Kawam was allegedly affiliated with.