Saskatoon police investigating stabbing on city bus

Saskatoon police are investigating after a 20-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl were stabbed on a city bus Thursday night.

At around 10:30 p.m., officers were called to the area of 20th Street West and Avenue N South for a report of a stabbing on a city bus, where they found the 20-year-old man suffering from a stab wound, Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) said in a release.

Police said the man was taken to hospital with a serious but not-life-threatening stab wound.

Police said two of the people involved in the stabbing had left in an unknown direction.

“Following a search of the area, officers located a male and female matching the witness’ descriptions walking in the 1400 block of 20th Street West,” police said.

Upon making contact, officers found the 15-year-old girl to be suffering from multiple serious but non-life-threatening stab wounds.

She was also transported to hospital by paramedics for treatment of her injuries.

Police said they continue to investigate the incident and said the stabbing occurred following an altercation between multiple people of unknown association to one another.

Earlier this month after an 18-year-old man was stabbed in a city bus, Saskatoon Transit Union acknowledged it has seen an increase in "negative interactions" on public transit.

The transit department has logged 124.5 negative interactions per one million rides so far this year, the statement said.

Of those interactions, 26 per cent were verbal altercations, nine per cent were acts of aggression, and six per cent were assaults.

In April, the transit union came forward with complaints of escalating violence on city buses.

According to the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615, in recent months, drivers have reported being punched, kicked, and spat on while serving the public.

Bus riders have come forward with similar complaints as well.

In February, a Saskatoon woman said she was assaulted and robbed while waiting for the bus on her way home from work.

Saskatoon Transit says it takes all incidents of violence on the transit system very seriously.

“Since negative interactions began to rise, uniformed Saskatoon Transit supervisors have been riding on routes, which have greater frequency of negative interactions,” the statement said. “Last month, more than 100 supervisor ride-alongs were performed across the transit system.

The city says beginning on July 1, community support officers will be placed in targeted areas and on routes where incidents occur more frequently.