Smalls
Life would have been easier all-around had William Smalls brought a token onto SEPTA’s Route 56 bus last Friday afternoon rather than a blade.
A 42-year-old man wouldn’t have ended up in a hospital. And Smalls probably wouldn’t have landed in jail.
The episode began at about 2 p.m. when Smalls boarded the southbound bus in Frankford but told the driver he didn’t have the $2.25 fare.
Smalls refused to exit the bus at the next stop, police say, prompting another rider to shove Smalls out the door onto the 4100 block of Torresdale Ave.
That’s when Smalls allegedly stabbed the other man multiple times in the head, neck and abdomen.
The victim was taken to Temple University Hospital in critical but stable condition. Smalls surrendered to police on Saturday after several news outlets broadcast surveillance video of the incident.
Smalls, 27, of the 9200 block of Masland St. in Bustleton, was charged with aggravated assault and related offenses. ••
