NEW YORK (AP) — A man stabbed a city bus driver to death over being denied a free ride, then escaped on foot Monday in the first killing of an on-duty New York City bus driver in more than a quarter-century, authorities said.

The man got on the bus in Brooklyn shortly after noon, swiped an invalid fare card, sat down and asked for a free card to change routes.

The driver, 46-year-old Edwin Thomas, told him he couldn't get a transfer because he hadn't paid; the attacker then punched him and stabbed him in the torso in front of other passengers, police said.