Fight breaks out on bus in Surrey after passenger refuses to wear mask

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — Shocking video circulating on social media shows a fight that broke out on a TransLink bus in Surrey on Saturday, all because one person refused to wear a mask.

The video, posted to Facebook, shows two men punching and shoving each other on the bus while people in the background yell for help.

Transit Police has confirmed the assault took place on a bus in the area of 96 Avenue and 120th Street in Surrey Saturday, adding it happened after one man offered the other a mask.

“He noticed another man enter the bus who was not wearing a mask,” says Constable Mike Yake. “The man removed a mask from his bag and offered it to the other man, to which he declined.”

“The man asked the suspect if he was medically exempt from wearing a mask and at that point, the suspect became angry and belligerent with the victim, the victim stood up to confront the suspect about not wearing the mask, and the suspect allegedly punched the victim in the head, which lead to a fight on the bus.”

The victim was left with a laceration above his eye and had to be taken to the hospital, while the suspect left the area shortly after the incident.

Transit Police are now trying to track down the suspect, and are asking for witnesses to come forward.

If you have any information, you should call Metro-Vancouver Transit Police at 604-515-8300, or text 877 777.

Yake also says that customers should not attempt to enforce TransLink’s mandatory mask policy.

“Please, do your best to distance yourself from the individual, and please don’t question or confront them as to why they’re not wearing a mask,” says Yake. “There are multiple, valid exemptions to the mask policy and not all disabilities or medical conditions are visible to the public.”

According to TransLink, spot checks show about 95 per cent of customers are wearing masks on board transit vehicles.

– With files from Monika Gul and Tarnjit Parmar