A GO bus travelling from Hamilton was pulled over by police on the Gardiner Expressway late Thursday night and police say a man pulled off of the bus has been charged with second-degree murder.

The bus was stopped on the Gardiner, near Highway 427. A passenger who was inside the vehicle at the time said there were about 20 people inside when it was pulled over and between five and eight police cruisers surrounding the bus.

After about 5 minutes, a passenger seated at the back of the bus walked to the front of the vehicle and lit a cigarette, ignoring requests from others that he not smoke. The witness told CP24 that the doors of the bus were locked and the man was blocked when he tried to exit.

The man was arrested about 25 minutes later when eight police officers boarded the bus.

According to Durham Regional Police, the 53-year-old man was arrested on an outstanding warrant for an assault and is also a person of interest in an ongoing homicide investigation in Durham.

The suspect appeared in a court in Oshawa this morning.

Alexander Ramirez, a passenger on the GO bus, told Newstalk 1010 that he felt unsafe while police blocked the suspect from exiting the bus.

"Objectively, we were essentially locked inside a bus for 25 minutes, (until the suspect) realized it was game over."

He said two officer armed with assault rifles approached the bus after it pulled over.

Ramirez said the suspect appeared intoxicated as he waited at the front of the locked bus.

Officers with the Ontario Provincial Police, Hamilton, Toronto and Durham police all took part in the investigation.

Durham Regional Police Sgt. Bill Calder said their service asked the OPP and Hamilton police to pull over the bus.

Police identified the suspect Friday afternoon as Joseph Scott Young, of no fixed address. He is accused of attacking 19-year-old Tehganni Lewis in an Oshawa-area rooming house on Jan. 23. Lewis died of his injuries one week later.

Young has been held in custody pending a bail hearing.