A brazen stabbing of a 41-year-old man unfolded on an MTA shuttle bus in Brooklyn in broad daylight on May 11. Days later, police have arrested the man accused of killing 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 from the victim’s grieving family members.
Francis, the father of three sons, was a hardworking roofer who took a shift on Sunday to earn extra money 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 celebrate Mother’s Day with his family when he got into a dispute 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 Kareem McCalla of Richmond Hill, who had boarded first through the rear door.
Prosecutors added more detail about the incident. Stating that the altercation began when McCalla asked Francis to move his backpack so he could sit down. Even after the bag was moved, McCalla reportedly wasn’t satisfied with the space provided and threatened to stab Francis. McCalla grabs Francis’s chain then proceeded to stab him as he tries to get away.
Francis was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital and later pronounced dead.
Police launched a manhunt for the suspect, releasing footage that showed a Black man wearing a light gray hoodie, blue hat, backpack, and a cross necklace. On Tuesday, May 14, NYPD confirmed they had arrested McCalla, who turned himself in, and charged him with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He is currently being held without bail
Todman-Francis recalled to news outlets her last conversation with her husband. They spoke on the phone not long before the tragedy to discuss dinner plans for Mother’s Day. “See you when I get home,” he told his wife. She grew increasingly worried when he never showed up. “I hadn’t heard from him, so I tracked his phone and I saw him at the precinct. So I called the precinct,” she said. Soon after, officers arrived at her house to deliver the terrible news.
The couple married five years ago, but had been together for more than two decades, and were looking forward to a vow renewal in August.
“Everybody’s saddened by it. He was a neighborhood guy. Family man. Hardworking,” said his neighbor in South Jamaica, Queens. “We’re just still processing it. It’s tough.”
In the family’s official statement, they requested privacy and indicated they would not be making additional comments. “At this moment, our family is asking for 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.
