NYPD: 20-Year-Old Man Confesses in Bus Driver Slaying

NEW YORK (1010 WINS)  -- New York City police say a 20-year-old man has confessed to the fatal stabbing of a bus driver who was attacked in front of horrified passengers.


Kathleen Maloney Reports

Police say Horace Moore, of Brooklyn, was charged with murder Tuesday after witnesses identified him in a lineup. Moore was taken in the previous evening for questioning after investigators tracked him down at his girlfriend's apartment.

Police say 46-year-old Edwin Thomas (pictured at left) was driving a B-46 bus when Moore boarded through the exit door and sat down. Thomas initially denied him a transfer slip because he didn't pay for the ride, but then gave him one before following Moore off the bus and arguing with him on the street.

Police say Thomas was punched in the head and then got back on the bus. Moore then followed him onto the bus, stabbed him, then fled.

Thomas was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, and Moore fled on foot, police said.

Passenger Benjamin Stacking told television reporters that he heard the commotion.

"It's crazy because the bus driver was cool,'' Stacking said. "He let me on. I was 50 cents short. He let me on and gave me a transfer. 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.''

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.

Assaulting an on-duty MTA employee is a felony.

Inset photo of Thomas from the MTA