ON May 12 at about 3:30 p.m., a man walking on the overpass toward Sapperton SkyTrain Station passed another man who was walking in the opposite direction. As the two men crossed paths, the latter allegedly pushed the former to the ground and punched him in the face before boarding a train.

A witness who observed the alleged assault immediately called 9-1-1 and provided aid to the victim as police rushed to the scene.

A brief time later, an alert New Westminster Police Department patrol officer, who was driving past New Westminster SkyTrain Station, spotted the suspect and made an arrest without incident.

“It’s troubling because the attack is unprovoked. So in this case, there’s nothing that we believe the victim could have done to prevent something like this. We’d like to commend the witness who called 9-1-1 and provided aid to the victim,” said New Westminster Police spokesperson Sgt. Sanjay Kumar.

Metro Vancouver Transit Police have taken conduct of the file and are recommending one charge of assault for a 50-year-old man of no fixed address, who is known to police. The suspect was released at the scene with a court appearance scheduled for June 8.

“In order to ensure seamless policing throughout the vast transit system, Transit Police works closely with all of our jurisdictional police partners to ensure that transit passengers stay safe. This incident is one example of how teamwork resulted in a quick arrest and sends a clear message that violence on transit will never be tolerated,” said Metro Vancouver Transit Police spokesperson Constable Amanda Steed.

Police are asking that anyone who may have witnessed this incident and who has not yet spoken to officers to contact Metro Vancouver Transit Police by phone at 604-515-8300 or by text at 87.77.77.