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[side_show]

... which happened right near where I live, and which made news internationally.

Local news reports are leaving out the gory details I can easily find on the international news sites, but a friend who works in the local media already filled me in on way worse details than any outlets are reporting.  Just such fucked up shit.

[side_show]

Apparently the two were total strangers, and it was a totally random attack. From when the attacker got on the bus until he killed the guy, all witnesses indicate the didn't speak to each other at all. 

The second degree thing is for a guaranteed guilty verdict.  It seems to be the trend to go for second degree in really serious crime in my Provence lately when there's no proof of premeditation and/or when the accused has a previous history of mental illness.  Since there's no proof of premeditation, and since the attacker has been previously diagnosed with mental illness (the only info public at this point is that he was institutionalized for four days) there's no guarantee 1st degree stick.  Second degree accepts that the guy is obviously bat-shit insane, but still holds up the opportunity to have him in jail for the rest of his life.  In Canada, if you're found to be criminally insane, and you go to an institution for the criminally insane, it is basically a worse fate than any prison sentence, since you can be held in such a facility for your entire life, without parole. 

[jaydub]

I was wondering if TOUAMB would take up the gauntlet on this thing.  I passed on it because a) I didn't feel at the time like dwelling on something morbid, and b) it took a while for the facts to shake out, and they only got weirder with time.

I guess the moral of the story is, "Don't fall asleep on the bus".  Good god, as if cross country bus travel didn't suck enough.

[theinevitable]

The facebook memorial thing for the victim is both cool and sad.

I always hate those things. They just feel so... cheap.
And then the switch kicks on where I say "people are just showing their commiseration the way they know how, you judgemental prick!"

And then a week later I see that all of my friends have quit the group, and I go back to hating those things.

[Doc]

I always hate those things. They just feel so... cheap.
And then the switch kicks on where I say "people are just showing their commiseration the way they know how, you judgemental prick!"

This is a familiar feeling, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle.

The thing that kind of struck me about this was that everyone ran off the bus, potentially while the guy was still alive. I've never been in that situation, nor do I want to be and I'd probably just freeze up or something but there was a bus full of people, one of them couldn't have tackled him or something? I'm probably being a douche, like I say I have no idea how I'd react in that situation so I can't judge but it just struck me as unfortunate.

In a related note: This really annoyed me. Just so mindlessly exploitative. Stay classy guys.

[Doc]

Which is the point. I'm just wishing for a happier ending damnit. Whether I'd be willing to risk being stabbed for one is the question.

[CortJstr]

After the Tech shooting I read that it takes like 6 civilians jumping an armed assailant together to reliably take him down. If any bystanders have police/military training that's different.

[side_show]

This attack occurred near the back of the bus, which was pretty empty.  The driver, a truck driver and one of the passengers went back on the bus to stop the attacker, this is when they witnessed him decapitating the victim.  When they got on and saw that the victim was clearly dead, the attacker immediately moved to attack them, and all three wedge themselves against the door and kept it closed as the attacker attempted to force or stab his way through it.  Apparently, when he gave up on trying to get out, he tried to drive away and the driver used and immobilizer to stop him,  Then the attacker went back, finished decapitating the head, and brought it to the men holding the door shut to show it to them. 

Having been on a few of those long haul bus rides, and especially with this route (which was a very easy drive - all prairie, along the main highway that crosses the country) my experience was that there were few able bodied people of the stock likely to intervene.  Usually Greyhound rides are mostly those who either do not drive, or do not own a car:  i.e. elderly people (predominantly older women), young people, and the very poor.  The route is half the price of a plane ticket, but more than triple the time. 

Since I'm bringing us all down, it's time for a happy side_show story about a Greyhound trip I took, because for me, travel is always a little bit magical.  Road stories are always about both the inward and outward journeys, so I hope my telling won't be too tinged by what's happened.  Please remember this is a story from 5 months ago, well before these horrible things.  I'll post it separately from this post, since it's pretty long.  It'll take me a while to type out, but I'll be back.

[Doc]

This attack occurred near the back of the bus, which was pretty empty.  The driver, a truck driver and one of the passengers went back on the bus to stop the attacker, this is when they witnessed him decapitating the victim. 

I retract my previous then. The previous descriptions I had read weren't as detailed but basically sounded like the passengers evacuated the bus when the guy started screaming and the decapitation happened after they all got off.