Concerns over bus travel security in wake of murder in Canada
By Tom AdamsEUGENE, Ore. - It's been the talk of two countries all week: a gruesome murder on a Greyhound bus. The question remains: will it lead to new safety measures for bus travel? The murder happened as passengers were riding across the Canadian prairies around 9:00 Wednesday night. Witnesses say the suspect stood up and stabbed 22-year-old Tim McLean more than 60 times. Greyhound passengers traveling through Eugene on Saturday were not interested in airport-style security.
Passengers in Canada said their bus ride was calm and quiet and then the unthinkable happened. "I was just reading a book and the guy beside me was standing up and stabbing another guy with a Rambo knife," said bus passenger and crime witness Garnet Calon. The suspect, Vince Li, 40, reportedly beheaded the victim while in what witnesses say was a robot-like trance. "We went to the front and he was holding the head in his hand and then just dropped it there," Calon said. It's crimes like this that beg the question: is security needed on all transportation? Right now, there is no screening process for bus passengers, nothing to protect them from stabbings, shootings and other violent crimes. A couple at the Eugene Greyhound station who were on a trip to Seattle said no thanks to metal detectors and bag checks. "No it's not necessary," said Michael O'Conner. "That's not necessary." "I feel safe," he said. "I don't think a security guard could have stopped that. That's a spontaneous act by some crazy guy so I don't think security would make that much difference." And that was the sentiment among the Greyhound passengers on Saturday night in Eugene: no confidence that metal detectors would stop a determined criminal or someone with a mental illness. "I hate metal detectors in airports," said passenger Zoe Jones. "I really do, and I'm not sure they work. That's why I'm hesitating."
A Greyhound spokeswoman said ticket sales remain steady since the incident and that bus travel is safe.
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