Winnipeg bus driver jumps out window to escape knife attack, 3 hit with bear spray at The Forks

A woman tried to stab a Winnipeg Transit bus driver,but he jumped out the window to safety on Sunday, Winnipeg police said.

Around 7 p.m. Sunday, awoman boarded an eastbound bus on Portage Avenue, according to a news release issued by Winnipeg police Monday morning.

A few minutes later, she started causing a disturbance and the driver pulled over near the intersection with Camden Place and told the woman to get off the bus.

That's when police say she pulled out a knife and tried to stab the driver around the protective barrier.

The driver ordered all the passengers to leave the bus, then jumped out the driver's side window.

The suspect fled, but police arrested her nearby and used a Taser,police said in a news release.

In a news release on Monday, the union representing Winnipeg Transit drivers said that type of incident would be preventable with an extended shield around the bus driver's seat.

The current shields "allow anybody to easily reach around into the driver's compartment," the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505's release said.

It said it's been advocating for the extended shields since the existing smaller shieldswere installed in 2019.

A bigger shield would make it harder for someone to reach the driver and buy time for an operator to communicate with the control centre if there's a disturbance, the release said.

The 41-year-old woman arrested in the attempted stabbing has been charged with assault with a weapon, two counts of possession of a weaponand not complying with a probation order, police said.

Bear spray attack at The Forks

Three people were assaulted in what police describe as an unprovoked bear spray attack at The Forks on Sunday.

Around 5:45 p.m., police found a 12-year old boy, a 15-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman suffering from the effects of being sprayed with a substance.

Investigators believe the group was approached by three others, who they did not know, who then sprayed the victims with bear repellent.

One of the accused ran away, but was arrested.

The three victims were taken to hospital and released.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with three counts of assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon and failing to follow a probation order.

Two other suspects have not been arrested.

The bear spray attack is the fourth violent incident at the historic site in less than a month.