Man Stabbed While Waiting For Metrolink Train In Riverside

Raymond Bonner, a homeless man, was arrested for the stabbing at a Metrolink platform.

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - Police have made an arrest in the case of a 69-year- old man who was stabbed in the neck while waiting for a train at the downtown Riverside Metrolink station Sunday, in what's being called a “random” attack.

Further information about the suspect was expected to be released later in the day.

The victim -- who's name was being withheld -- was taken to a hospital, underwent surgery and was in critical but stable condition, Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback said.

The attack happened about 8:15 a.m. Sunday at the Metrolink station at 4066 Vine St., which was partially closed until 2 p.m. due to the police investigation.

The victim was standing on the platform with a friend when they were confronted by the suspect, according to Railsback. After a brief exchange, the suspect stabbed the man once in the neck with a knife, and ran north along the tracks, Railsback said.

The friend accompanying the man on the platform took him back to the car in which they arrived, where another friend had been waiting, and attempted to stanch the blood flow before paramedics arrived and took the man to a hospital.

Railsback said investigators don't believe the suspect and the victim knew each other.

“That is very concerning that we have someone in our community who was brazen enough to do this,” he said.

Railsback told KTLA5 that investigators had some leads on the suspect thanks to a canine from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, which was deployed to the station to aide with the manhunt.

Two Metrolink trains with scheduled stops in downtown Riverside, 753 and 859, bypassed the station and buses took them to their destination.

Two more trains coming from Union Station in Los Angeles with final stops in downtown Riverside were routed to the other side of the platform and weren't affected by the investigation, Railsback said.

The station was expected to fully re-open Monday.

Metrolink said any passengers who took alternative transportation due to the disruption could be eligible for up to a $50 reimbursement, and could visit http://metrolinktrains.com/qsp for more information.

Anyone with information about the attack was urged to call the Riverside Police Department at (951) 826-5700.

Photo: Getty Images


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