Police are asking for the public's help to identify two suspects who allegedly violently assaulted a woman on a Surrey, B.C. bus last week after a dispute over a seat.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police say the victim, a 61-year-old woman, was sent to hospital with a broken arm, a cracked sternum and minor head trauma.
She had boarded the 96B bus at Surrey Central SkyTrain station at about 6:30 p.m. on March 20 and sat down next to a woman occupying a window seat.
"There was a little bit of an argument almost immediately," said transit police spokesperson Anne Drennan. "The woman in the window seat said that the other woman couldn't' sit there because she was saving it for her husband, who was travelling with her."
The woman in the window seat then allegedly pushed the victim onto the floor and her husband sat down beside her.
The victim then sat down behind the couple and attempted to take a picture of the pair on her cellphone. That drew their attention.
The wife allegedly pulled the phone from the vicitm's hands, grabbed her by the hair and hauled her over the back of the seat. She allegedly struck her head repeatedly on the metal handrail on top of the seat.
"She was screaming at her threatening to kill her, saying if she had a gun she would shoot her," Drennan said.
By then the bus driver became aware of the commotion and pulled into the nearest stop at 88th Avenue and King George Boulevard.
The husband apparently separated the two women and grabbed the victim's phone from another passenger who had picked it up off the floor before the two suspects disembarked.
The victim tried to follow them to retrieve her phone, but the husband threw it on the ground in front of the bus.
"Of course, it smashed to bits," Drennan said.
The couple was last seen heading towards Bear Creek Plaza.
"This was a particularly vicious assault," Drennan said. "And when you think it was just over a bus seat, it was really terrible."
She said the victim is traumatized from the incident, and is scared to use the bus again.
Investigators describe the female suspect as South Asian and about 5-6 with a medium build and long, black hair. She had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing a maroon jacket with a fur trimmed hood and patterned leggings that day.
The male suspect is described as South Asian and about 5-10 with short dark hair, a beard and moustache. He was wearing an olive green hoodie with a light circle-shaped logo on the chest and bright hood lining. He also had black shorts and was carrying a red Goodlife Fitness duffel bag.
Anyone who may have seen the incident or who recognizes the suspects should call the Metro Vancouver Transit Police tip line at 604-516-7419 and refer to the file #18-5346.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Julie Nolin
