SkyTrain attack suspect arrested hours after police released surveillance footage

FILE: Sandy Sanderson (Screenshot from surveillance video of the Metro Vancouver Transit Police)

Just hours after the Metro Vancouver Transit Police (MTVP) released a surveillance video linking a man to the SkyTrain assault on the weekend, the said suspect was arrested and slapped with criminal raps.

The man identified by the police as Sandy Sanderson, 51, was reported by a caller on Wednesday, April 29, afternoon to the authorities as he was spotted near Trout Lake at John Hendry Park.

The caller recognized him from media reports.

In an interview with CTV News, the police said that Sanderson, a Vancouver man with no fixed address, has a history of mental illness. It will still be investigated if his condition has anything to do with the alleged attack.

#MVTPMediaRelease *update* An appeal to the public by @TransitPolice has led to the arrest of a suspect who allegedly violently attacked a woman on SkyTrain. Transit Police sincerely want to thank both the public & media for their assistance. Media release to follow. pic.twitter.com/yIq8WTQsvj

— Sgt. Clint Hampton (@SgtCHampton) April 30, 2020

It was on Thursday when he was formally charged with assault causing bodily harm and mischief after a woman reported him for attacking her. She said that he had been staring at her last Saturday morning at Waterfront station before he approached her.

“You people are why my daughter is sick,” this was what he told her, reportedly before yelling and attacking her.

According to reports, the suspect punched the woman in the face multiple times. The police also said that he grabbed her by the hair and violently hit her against the SkyTrain sitting. The woman sustained injuries like a bloody nose, a cut above her eye, and a significant swelling on her face. The authorities alleged that when the train stopped at Burrard station, the suspect pushed her through the open SkyTrain doors and broke her phone by throwing it against a wall.

There’s been an increase in hate crimes in Vancouver, especially to Asian communities, being linked to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Authorities have however said that the woman is not Asian.