Woman arrested for fatal Bronx MTA bus stabbing as friends mourn victim

A woman whose argument cops say led to the stabbing death of a bus passenger in the Bronx was arrested Monday as shocked friends mourned the victim.

Lamont Barkley, 55, was killed Sunday night after getting into a quarrel with Ebony Jackson as the Bx19 bus they were riding neared E. 149th St. and Gerard Ave. in Mott Haven. A man who has not been caught intervened in the quarrel and stabbed Barkley in the stomach multiple times before the duo fled about 8:25 p.m., cops said.

Barkley was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he died.

Jackson, 42, of the Bronx, was charged with murder and manslaughter. The stabber is still being sought, cops said.

Jackson was arrested at the same hospital where Barkley died. It was unclear how Jackson was injured but a source said she went to Lincoln Hospital on her own after the stabbing for treatment and police realized who she was.

Cops said Jackson has no prior arrests.

A week before Barkley was stabbed to death on the bus, he posted a photo on Facebook of himself riding the subway.

The picture puzzled his lifelong friend Sydney Willis, 67, who said he worried for Barkley’s safety.

“Honestly, when I saw him post that picture on the subway last week, I was like, my God, why would he ride the subway?” Willis said. “He always dressed nice. I would think he would be a target.”

Willis said Barkley was the same guy he grew up with in the Patterson Houses nearby, a fun-loving guy who had changed little since childhood.

“He played basketball,” Willis said. “Average kid, funny. He was a comedian. Life of the party. He was always dressed clean. He had his own style. Always willing to help out, loved by everybody in the community.”

Barkley, whose relatives include retired boxer Iran Barkley and Giants running back Saquon Barkley, shared two children with his wife, who died last year.

“He was honestly a great individual,” said James Robinson, a supervisor at Willow Shelter in the Bronx, where Barkley worked for the last five years. “He loved helping people. He was a standup dude, a great father and husband. He’ll definitely be missed.”