Chief vows to target ‘violent’ youth gangs on LRT

City police will continue to target a “very violent” gang of youths terrorizing the most vulnerable LRT commuters like the elderly and the disadvantaged, Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht said.

Responding to questions about public safety following a stabbing attack of a commuter at the South Campus LRT Station Tuesday morning, Knecht said there are problem areas in the city related to gangs but “the LRT is overall quite safe.”

“We’ve got a specific group that we know are taking advantage of people on the LRT,” he told reporters Thursday.

“And that’s a tremendous concern for us so we are focused on those individuals and hope to have some results in the short term.”

In March, police announced they had laid more than 460 charges against close to three-dozen male youths and young adults in connection with a series of violent crimes dating back to early 2017.

One of those attacks saw a 46-year-old woman violently kicked in the back and sent flying down the stairs at Belvedere LRT station. Another saw two youths being beaten after being swarmed by a group of three-dozen assailants at Century Park LRT station.

“They just don’t seem to care about anybody,” Knecht said.

“They seemed to target the most vulnerable in our community, the elderly particularly, the disadvantaged, the mentally ill. They are just targeting people who they think they can have some level of success as far as robbing them, yet they are not getting large amounts of money or anything else.”

The 24-year-old man accused of attempted murder and other charges related to a stabbing at an LRT station and subsequent crime spree appeared briefly in court Thursday.

Mario Bigchild is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, two counts of robbery, escaping lawful custody, assaulting a peace officer and disarming a peace officer.

Bigchild will next appear in court on Oct. 4.