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A man’s death after what police called an unprovoked attack on an Auckland bus has shaken the community and reignited debate about how public transport safety can be improved.
“Gentle giant” Sefo Leger died on Monday after another passenger on a bus from Glen Innes to Ōrākei pulled out a knife and “initiated an attack on him”, police said.
Leger managed to get off the bus but died in hospital from his injuries. The suspected attacker stayed on the bus and allegedly attacked another man, who later needed surgery on his hand.
Josephine Bartley, Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward councillor on Auckland Council, said locals had been shaken and wanted reassurance that public transport was safe.
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This week’s fatal attack follows earlier Herald reports that assaults on bus drivers had fallen from a 2022 surge but still reached 29 through the first half of this year.
In response, Auckland Transport’s Stacey van der Putten announced in August that her team had begun trialling live CCTV cameras on 70 buses.
Part of an “action plan” to stop “bad behaviour” and actions “putting drivers at risk”, it worked by giving drivers the power to raise the alarm in real time.
By pressing a duress button, bus drivers with live CCTV fitted could alert a system operator to watch and call for help in the event of assaults or abusive behaviour.
Van der Putten said the technology was part of a wider action plan that also included installing glass screens for drivers, but it wasn’t yet perfect.
With 13,500 bus services operating daily, not every event could be captured on video or addressed by transport police teams who were riding the network.
Assaults on bus drivers in recent years have risen from 34 in 2021, to 90 in 2022 and then down to 56 last year and 29 through the first half of 2025.
In November last year, an Auckland bus driver was hospitalised with fractured ribs and eye damage after being attacked during a shift.
It came after a spate of assaults, including a driver being beaten, an alleged racially charged assault, a neck-slashing and a wrench attack.
Migrant bus drivers, particularly those on working visas, have also been raising concerns after hundreds from the Philippines, India and Fiji were recruited in 2023 to help fill a shortage of bus drivers across New Zealand.
First Union organiser Hayley Courtney earlier told the Herald that these drivers had been saying they didn’t know how to react to attacks and what steps they could take to defend themselves.
“They’re totally fearful for two reasons: they’re scared they’re going to keep getting assaulted, abused and stabbed, and they’re scared they’re going to lose their jobs if they report it,” she said.
Friends and family have remembered 59-year-old Leger as a well-known “gentle giant” of the Glen Innes community.
A friend of Leger’s family described him as a “character” who had “a lot of friends”.
“It’s just a real shock,” the friend said.
A Glen Innes resident, who did not want to be named, said Leger was “loved” and was not someone known to start fights.
“It’s really sad. People are really, really sad.
“These are good people who live around here, families. This isn’t us.”
Police formally named Leger on Tuesday and expressed their “deepest sympathies” to his whānau.
“This senseless crime has impacted many across the community, and our thoughts are with you,” Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said.
Police said the series of “unprovoked” attacks began Monday night on Auckland Transport’s number 76 bus travelling from Glen Innes to Ōrākei.
The 36-year-old accused boarded the bus at 7.53pm on Apirana Ave.
Leger boarded three minutes later at 7.56pm.
He travelled a short distance before moving to get off the bus at 7.58pm.
“The only other passenger aboard initiated an attack on the victim, before he could exit the bus near Fenchurch St in Glen Innes,” Baldwin said.
Leger managed to get off the bus outside the Fenchurch shops.
Video footage showed him walking and clutching his chest before sitting on nearby pallets.
A woman rushed to his aid and to rally help, while a man brought towels to try to stem the blood.
Paramedics took him to hospital, where he died from his injuries.
A small pool of blood remained visible the next day by the pallets.
Baldwin said the bus driver had not been aware of how serious the first attack was and kept driving.
The second victim boarded the bus at 8.09pm.
Baldwin said the second “unprovoked assault” began when the offender approached the victim at the rear of the bus.
“The offender initiated a fight and quickly produced a knife and assaulted the victim.”
A 51-year-old man suffered serious injuries but managed to escape after a “short confrontation”.
He fled the bus along with another passenger and the bus driver near the bus stop at Coates Ave and Kepa Rd.
The alleged offender also left the bus at this time and fled on foot, police said.
Police later seized the bus on Nehu St in Ōrākei as part of their investigation.
The second victim had surgery on his hand on Tuesday and remains in a serious but stable condition.
Baldwin said police had spoken to an off-duty nurse who was on the bus and helped the second victim.
Detectives believe the attacks were random and the victims did not know each other.
“There is absolutely no place in our community for that kind of needless and senseless unprovoked violence,” Baldwin said.
Police flooded the downtown Auckland area on Tuesday afternoon in a hunt for the attacker.
Officers spotted and arrested a man at the corner of Commerce St and Fort St.
The 36-year-old accused made his first appearance in the Auckland District Court yesterday afternoon.
He stood in the dock flanked by security, wearing a blue police-issue boiler suit.
Court documents show he is charged with murdering Leger and wounding Gerard Katu with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Defence lawyer Philip Hamlin sought interim name suppression and a remand in custody.
Hamlin told the court that “assessments” needed to be made, and it had been “difficult getting instructions”.
Judge Steve Bonnar KC remanded the man in custody until his next appearance in the High Court at Auckland on January 28.
The judge granted interim name suppression but allowed media to photograph the defendant in the dock.
If convicted, he could face life imprisonment for murder and up to 14 years for the wounding charge.
Auckland Transport has been assisting police and providing support to the bus driver involved.
“Our buses all have CCTV cameras onboard, and we are working closely with police,” a spokesperson said.
Councillor Bartley posted a video on social media while riding the 76 bus to reassure locals.
She said transport officers had been deployed on buses since the attacks.
“I think people are wanting reassurance that it’s safe to get back on the bus.
“I won’t lie, I am looking carefully at who’s boarding the bus.”