STAPLETON — The knife-wielding straphanger who stabbed a passenger following an argument about a seat on a Staten Island bus has been arrested on attempted murder charges, prosecutors said.
Franklin Bethea, 18, was arrested on Friday for stabbing a 24-year-old man several times on an S74 bus last week, prosecutors said.
Bethea and three female friends were riding the bus at about 1:44 p.m on Oct. 13, when the victim got into a fight with a woman who started to slap him, police said.
The man raised his hands to protect himself before Bethea stabbed him at least four times in the right hand, abdomen, left hip and right armpit, police said.
After the stabbing, the driver ordered all the passengers to exit the bus at Canal and Water streets, where Bethea and the three women — who police later released surveillance photos of — fled the bus.
The victim was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition, police said.
Bethea was charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon at his arraignment, the Staten Island District Attorney's office said.
His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
