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Swing and a miss: Langley man tries to stab, punch four people

An intoxicated man tried to attack two bus drivers, attempted to stab a passenger, and took a swing at a third bus driver before being arrested May 3.

At about 4 p.m., an 18-year-old Langley man was picked up by a shuttle bus headed from the Willowbrook Shopping Centre to the Langley bus loop, said Cpl. Holly Marks, spokesperson for the local RCMP.

The man passed out while en route to the bus loop, said Marks.

The shuttle bus driver, anticipating problems with her passenger, met another driver at the bus loop. Together, they approached the rider and asked him to leave the bus.

The very intoxicated man started taking swings at both of the drivers, but they avoided getting hit, said Marks.

The man did get off the bus, and found himself in a crowd among a number of people waiting to board buses. The man then allegedly pulled a knife and tried to stab one of the waiting transit patrons, but again missed.

A passing car pulled into the bus loop, two men got out, and one of them disarmed the suspect by kicking the knife out of his hand. The two men took the knife, got back in their vehicle, and left.

Police have no idea if the men in the car knew the attacker, or if they were simply randomly stopping to help.

Now unarmed, the drunk man tried to board another bus, and when the driver refused to let him on, the man took another swing – and it was another miss.

Mounties then arrived and arrested Lance James Flegel, 18.

Flegel has been charged with assault, assault with a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, and two counts of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He remains in custody and was due to appear in court on May 7.

 â€œWe are very alive to the potential for danger to the bus drivers and take these investigations very seriously,” said Insp. Murray Power, Langley RCMP’s operations support officer. “We are extremely happy that no one was hurt in this instance.”

This is not the first time a bus patron has attacked a driver or fellow passenger around Langley.

Steven Fayant was sentenced to 22 months in jail in 2013 after two separate attacks on or near buses. Fayant choked bus driver Ram Punni in Surrey on Feb. 18, 2012, and three days later, stabbed Thomas Murphy when the two were getting off a bus in Aldergrove. Murphy suffered a lacerated kidney and couldn’t work for three months while recovering from the injury.



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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