Teen killed in Surrey bus stabbing was going to meet up with his mom, family says

The teenager stabbed to death while riding a bus in Surrey late Tuesday has been identified by his family as 17-year-old Ethan Bespflug.

Andrea Van Der Gracht is Bespflug's aunt. In a phone interview with CTV News Wednesday evening, she described her nephew as "a good boy" who was on his way to King George SkyTrain Station to meet his mom when the attack occurred.

Bespflug was living in Abbotsford, but had gone to meet up with friends in Surrey on the night of his death, Van Der Gracht said.

He told his mom he'd be at the station by nine, and later sent her a text saying some kids were harassing him on the bus and that he was scared. According to his aunt, that was the last communication Bespflug's mother had from her son.

"Obviously, he didn't show up to meet his mom," Van Der Gracht said. "She was calling and calling and it was going to voicemail, and then she pinged his phone and it pinged at (Royal Columbian Hospital)."

Bespflug's mother raced to the hospital, but her son was dead by the time she arrived, according to Van Der Gracht.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has taken over the case, saying in a statement Wednesday that they believe the attack was an isolated incident with no connection to the Lower Mainland gang conflict.

An earlier statement from Surrey RCMP also described the incident as "targeted," though IHIT did not use that phrase.

Van Der Gracht said Bespflug didn't know the people who attacked him, though they had lived in the same neighbourhood in Surrey in the past.

She said the assailants were two teens, a boy and a girl, and that the boy was the one who stabbed her nephew.

"We do actually know who they are, and so do the police, but as it stands right now they're not releasing that information," Van Der Gracht said, adding that police had asked her not to name the suspects publicly.

"Apparently this boy had just been released from juvenile (detention) the day before," she said.

No arrests have been made.

The attack is the second stabbing in as many weeks aboard a transit bus in Surrey. The first victim, whose throat was slashed on April 1, is now recovering at home.

Surrey RCMP says there is no indication that the two stabbings are connected.

Van Der Gracht is the organizer of a GoFundMe that can be found by searching Bespflug's name on the platform. She said funds raised will benefit Bespflug's mother, step-father and three younger siblings.

"Please help this family," she said. "They're a good family, and they – this is going to break them. Any support would be greatly appreciated."

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Spencer Harwood and The Canadian Press.