A sad and disturbing incident on the B46 bus in Bed-Stuy. Edwin Thomas was the first bus driver murdered in NYC in more than 27 years. Here’s an excerpt from the story in the New York Times:

A New York City bus driver was fatally stabbed in Brooklyn on Monday after refusing to give a transfer to his assailant, who had not paid his fare, the police said. Witnesses said the killer jumped off the bus, slipped the hood of his black sweatshirt over his head and ran away.

New York City Transit officials said it was the first slaying of a city bus driver in more than 27 years, although from time to time subway token-booth attendants have been attacked, some viciously. It was also the 476th homicide of the year in New York, 29 more than at this time last year. In 1981, there were more then 1,820 killings.

Investigators said the victim, Edwin Thomas, 46, driving the B46 route, was attacked at a bus stop on Malcolm X Boulevard at Gates Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant shortly after 12:30 p.m. by a tall, thin black man about 35, who had boarded the northbound bus about half a mile away.

The police said the man inserted an invalid MetroCard into the fare box two or three times, and, despite its rejection, walked back and took a seat beside a woman. The driver, following rules to avoid confrontations, said nothing. But when the man came forward and asked for a transfer at Gates Avenue, the driver refused, saying he had not paid his fare and was not entitled to one.

Enraged, the assailant punched Mr. Thomas twice in the head, witnesses said. He then stepped off the bus. The driver was about to close the door behind him when the man suddenly turned, stepped back onto the bus, pulled out a knife with a slashing motion and drove the blade repeatedly into the driver’s chest and torso.