Topic: Edwin Thomas

Edwin Thomas (born 1962) was an African American New York City bus driver who was murdered by an unknown man on December 1, 2008 who became infuriated that Thomas refused to give him a free transfer because the former did not pay his fare. This was the first slaying of a New York City bus driver in more than 27 years.

An tall, skinny unknown black man whom witnesses to the murder described to be approximately 35 years of age boarded the B46 bus in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The man slid in an invalid MetroCard in the fare box two or three times, and despite it being rejected, he wordlessly took a seat next to a woman. Thomas, who was following rules to avoid confrontations, acquiesced and said nothing. However, at the Malcolm X Boulevard stop, when the man asked Thomas for a transfer at Gates Avenue, Thomas refused, stating that the man did not pay his fare. Outraged, the man punched Thomas twice before exiting the bus, but immediately returned and began to stab Thomas with a sharp object. Despite passengers intervening and two men chasing the assailant as he fled, Thomas was pronounced dead by the time he arrived to the hospital.

The New York City Police Department, Transport Workers Union, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have each posted a $12,000 reward for any tips leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.