Edwin Thomas, 46, NYC Bus Driver Stabbed To Death By Horace Moore in Front of Riders Over $2 Transfer Slip

UPDATE: Edwin Thomas was stabbed to death by scumbag Horace Moore, who has confessed to the crime. Murder charges are pending. According to the NY Daily News,

Moore, paroled ex-con suspected in the vicious slaying of the bus driver was free to kill despite a violent past that included a July bust for toting a knife in the subway.Horace Moore, 20, was barely out of prison on an attempted murder conviction when he was grabbed four months ago with the folding knife aboard a C train in Brooklyn, the Daily News learned Tuesday. The paroled recidivist - who's been busted at least eight times since 2002 - was released after the knife arrest, sources told The News. The case was adjourned, and Moore was told the charge would be dropped if he stayed out of trouble, the sources said.

Why am I not surprised that this scumbag was a repeat offender? Why is it that the most violent offenders among us get a free pass to terrorize innocent people instead of being behind bars? I am appalled that, once again, the penal system has failed to protect the public. This man did not deserve to die, especially at the hands of a animal who deserved to be behind bars. Stop incarcerating people who have committed minor crimes, incarcerate violent scumbags like Horace Moore.

What is going on in this country? There are too many lunatics and thugs roaming our streets. The police said New York City bus driver Edwin Thomas, 46 was stabbed to death Monday afternoon by a rider apparently angry over not receiving a free transfer. Thomas, the driver of the B-46 bus, was operating the bus in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn and picked up the suspect around 12:30 p.m. Monday at Malcolm X Boulevard near Gates Avenue.

Police said 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."No reason to stab a bus driver if you are broke or have no money and can't get a transfer. No reason to stab a person."

Of course the scumbag fled on foot. Police are looking for a black male between 18 and 20 years old wearing black jeans and an Adidas jacket.

According to media reports, the 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.

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."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg described Thomas in a statement as a "good man who was good at his job of helping move New York City.""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.

I hope they find that scumbag who couldn't even afford to pay his fare. Shameful and totally uncalled for. This man lost his life doing his job. My sympathies go out to his family.