An Albuquerque city bus driver faces murder charges after allegedly stabbing a passenger to death following an argument that began on the bus and spilled onto the street, according to court documents reviewed by City Desk ABQ.
The 41-year-old driver was charged with murder, tampering with evidence and criminal damage to property in connection with the fatal stabbing that occurred early Wednesday morning near the Good 2 Go convenience store at 1535 Coors Blvd. NW, court records show.
What Happened
Witnesses told police that the driver and another passenger, known as “Joe” “who commonly gives the driver trouble for being late,” got into a verbal altercation causing the driver to pull over and order Joe off the bus. The driver responded “get a taxi, cheap ass” and the two exchanged verbal challenges.
Surveillance video viewed by police shows that the bus was stopped for eight minutes as passengers on board waited.
Eventually, another passenger (who later became the stabbing victim) approached the driver and “swung his fist” at him. Both parties engaged in an altercation before the driver pepper-sprayed the passenger. As the passenger retreated, the driver armed himself with a pocket knife. The passenger returned to his seat and then retrieved his own knife.
In justifying the homicide charges, investigators noted that “the driver armed himself with a knife he removed from his pocket before the victim retrieved his knife from a backpack at his seat.”
As the two moved off the bus and onto the sidewalk, investigators reviewing the video noted that the passenger appeared to drop an object, presumably the knife, from his hand before the driver took a “bladed stance” and stabbed the passenger twice.
Albuquerque police responded to the homicide callout at approximately 7:41 a.m. Wednesday. The victim was transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he was later declared dead from his injuries.
The criminal complaint details how the driver was observed pursuing the victim as he walked away from the bus, pulling the victim’s hair and attempting to continue the physical altercation. Witness accounts describe the driver taking a “bladed stance” and thrusting his right hand toward the victim’s left side.
The incident occurs as Albuquerque works to improve transit safety across its bus system. ABQ RIDE has installed over 2,700 transit cameras monitored by the Albuquerque Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center as part of enhanced security measures.
ABQ RIDE spokesperson Madeline Skrak said the transit system has seen safety improvements, with security-related incidents including assaults, disorderly conduct, vandalism and people with altered mental states declining in recent months.
The city’s bus system serves 6.8 million passengers annually and has operated fare-free since November 2023, making it one of the largest fare-free transit systems in the country.
Read more of our coverage on this incident here.