Lachine resident “devastated” after bus attack

One week after a Lachine resident was attacked with a hammer on the night bus, his sense of security has not returned.

“Psychologically, I’m devastated. I can’t even walk to the corner without looking over my shoulder,” said Jorge Reynaud, an architecture student at the Université de Montréal.

On Feb. 28, Reynaud was taking the 356 bus home to Lachine around 4 a.m. when four men boarded and moved to the back of the bus, where Reynaud was sitting. “This guy—he just kept on staring at me for a good 10-15 minutes,” he told TC Media.

Reynaud recalled that his assailant asked for cash. “I was willing to give him whatever I had on me. He didn’t give me enough time to even search in my pockets.”

One of the men moved closer to Reynaud and revealed the head of hammer from his coat, he recollected. “At that point I was scared,” he said. “I told him listen, I really don’t need any trouble. I told him I didn’t have any weapons. I think he took advantage of that because he got up and said ‘Shut the F up and hand over the cash’ and I was just in shock.”

Reynaud said the attacker gave him three seconds to hand over his money before the hammer came down on his head. “He went so fast I think he just wanted to prove himself with his friends.”

Reynaud felt he was on the “verge of death” as he felt blood pouring from his forehead. “I was in hell . . . It felt like somebody poured a bottle of warm liquid on my head. It was my blood.” He suffered an external hemorrhage. Reynaud said doctors told him that had he been struck three millimetres lower, the wound could have been fatal.

Safety

Since the attack, Reynaud says is sense of security is “totally messed up.” He doesn’t feel safe on public transit, especially busses. “I don’t think I’ll ever take a night bus again, at least not soon,” he said.

Reyaud remembered the bus driver telling him there was no camera on the bus. A spokesperson for the STM said that all night busses, including the bus from this incident, are equipped with cameras. Drivers are asked to call 911 or the bus control centre, and are also trained with the “Sécuribus” program to diffuse potential conflict.

According to the SPVM, the bus driver and multiple passengers called police. But the bus was only stopped as the fight was ending, said Reynaud. “I shouted ‘this guy is armed,’ but it seems like nobody knew he had a blunt weapon. He kept on hitting me with it but it wasn’t very visible.”

The suspects fled on foot and three men were apprehended by the police canine unit. The men are 17, 18 and 19-years-old. Two have been charged with assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, assault causing bodily harm and extortion. The 17-year-old suspect appeared in juvenile court on March 2. The second suspect will appear in court March 22.