On May 11, a 41-year-old man was brutally stabbed on an MTA shuttle bus in Brooklyn during daylight hours. Days later, police arrested the man suspected of murdering Alvin Francis over a seat dispute.
“We are heartbroken over the tragic and senseless loss of Alvin Francis…a loving and dedicated father, husband, brother…taken from us far too soon,” read an official statement released on May 12 by the victim’s grieving family.
Francis, a hardworking roofer with three sons, worked an extra shift on Sunday to help pay for his son’s middle school graduation.
“He’s a hardworking man,” his wife Candice Todman-Francis told the Daily News. “Work and home — literally, work and home and his favorite place is Home Depot.”
The Queens resident was returning home around 2 p.m. to spend Mother’s Day with his family when he got into a fight with another passenger over a seat on the J90 shuttle bus, which runs on weekends when the J train is out of service.
According to police and surveillance footage reviewed by investigators, the altercation involved 36-year-old Richmond Hill resident Kareem McCalla, who boarded first through the rear door.
Prosecutors provided more information about the incident. McCalla claimed that the altercation started when he asked Francis to move his backpack so he could sit down.
Even after the bag was moved, McCalla reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the space provided and threatened to stab Francis. McCalla grabs Francis’s chain and stabs him as he tries to escape.
Francis was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital and later pronounced dead.
Police launched a manhunt for the suspect, releasing video footage of a Black man wearing a light gray hoodie, blue hat, backpack, and a cross necklace.
On Tuesday, May 14, the NYPD confirmed that McCalla had been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon after he turned himself in. He’s currently being held without bail.
Todman-Francis told news outlets about her last conversation with her husband. They had spoken on the phone not long before the tragedy to plan dinner for Mother’s Day. “See you when I get home,” he informed his wife.
She became increasingly concerned when he didn’t show up. “I hadn’t heard from him, so I tracked his phone and found him at the precinct. “So I called the precinct,” she explained. Soon after, officers arrived at her home to deliver the devastating news.
The couple married five years ago, but had been together for over two decades and planned to renew their vows in August.
“Everybody is saddened. He was a regular in the neighborhood. Family man. His neighbor in South Jamaica, Queens, described himself as hardworking. “We’re still processing it. “It’s tough.”
In their official statement, the family requested privacy and stated that they would not make any further comments. “At this time, our family is requesting privacy and space as we grieve,” read the statement. “We are placing our full trust in law enforcement as they continue their investigation, and we remain hopeful that justice will be served.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact the NYPD or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
