Dec 2, 2008 12:55 pm US/Eastern
Police Questioning Suspect In Bus Driver Stabbing
Police: Argument Over $2 Transfer Slip Ends In Horror
Edwin Thomas, 46, Remembered As Credit To His Profession
BROOKLYN (CBS) ―
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The B-46 bus driven by Edwin Thomas was cordoned off by police tape after Thomas was stabbed to death by a passenger on Dec. 1 in Brooklyn.
CBS
New York City police are questioning a man in the killing of an on-duty bus driver who was stabbed in front of horrified passengers in Brooklyn, CBS 2 HD has learned.
No charges have been filed, but the person of interest, identified as a man in his 20s, is being interviewed at a police precinct.
On Monday, New York City bus driver Edwin Thomas, 46, was stabbed to death by a rider apparently angry over not receiving a free transfer, police said. The horrific incident marked the first time a NYC bus driver has been killed on the job in 27 years. Police are offering a $12,000 reward for any information on the suspect.
Thomas, driving the B-46, was operating the bus in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn when he picked up the suspect around 12:30 p.m. Monday at Malcolm X Boulevard near Gates Avenue, police said.
According to police, the man swiped an invalid fare card and sat down on the bus, then asked for a transfer slip usually available to riders.
Police told CBS 2 HD that when the driver told the man that he didn't pay for the ride and couldn't get a transfer, the man punched the driver in the head and stabbed him to death while other riders looked on.
"It's crazy because, I mean, the bus driver was cool," witness Benjamin Stacking said. "He let me on. I was 50 cents short and he still let me on and gave me a transfer, so that's kind of crazy.
At the B-46 bus stop where Thomas was stabbed, there was both sadness and fear on Tuesday morning.
"I knew him very well, very well...it's sad," said Craig Wallace.
CBS 2 HD spoke with a bus driver who is now worried about his own safety and wants video cameras and plexiglass dividers to keep him separated from disturbed passengers.
"It's a shame. It's terrible to know what has happened to this innocent man who left his family to come out to work," said Patsy Jocelyn James.
Ironically, Edwin Thomas switched from driving armored trucks to city buses seven years ago because he thought it would be safer. And according to transit officials, he followed rules to avoid confrontation by allowing the deadbeat passenger on in the first place.
Elliot Lee Sander, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's executive director and chief executive, said Thomas was a seven-year veteran and characterized him as "a valued employee" who would "be sorely missed."
"Bus operator Thomas was killed while serving the people of New York City," Sander said. "This is an extraordinary tragedy for the city and the MTA."
Gov. David Paterson said in a statement he was "shocked and saddened" by the killing of Thomas, who the governor said "spent his career ensuring the safety of his passengers."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg described Thomas in a statement as a "good man who was good at his job of helping move New York City."
The mayor said he spoke with Thomas's son Jeffrey, offering the family his sympathies.
"In Edwin's memory, I ask all New Yorkers riding public transit tonight or tomorrow to take an extra moment to say 'Thank you' to our New York City Transit workers and I ask everyone to keep Edwin Thomas' family and loved ones in your prayers," the mayor's statement said.
The fatal attack on the bus driver, the mayor said, was "so shocking" partly because such violence has become rare. The last bus driver killed while on the job was Harvey Shield in 1981 in Brooklyn, the MTA said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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