The paranoid ex-con who fatally shot his girlfriend's teenage son, then killed one person and injured another on a Q111 NYC Transit bus in Queens was allegedly hoping for a bloodbath. Damel Burton, 34, told cops the bus shooting occurred because he believed the commuters were plotting against him. And prosecutors say he had been planning to shoot even more people: "The defendant stated that he would have shot more people but the gun jammed," prosecutor Suzanne O'Hare said at Burton's arraignment, according to the News. more ›

A paranoid ex-con fatally shot his girlfriend's teenage son, then killed one person and injured another on a Q111 NYC Transit bus in Queens during a 15 minute shooting spree yesterday afternoon. According to the News, Damel Burton, 34, told cops the bus shooting occurred because he believed the commuters were plotting against him. “People on the bus were on the phone and he thought they were talking about him,” a police source said. more ›

If all the bedbug fart-detecting machines and protective seat covers in the world have failed you, turn now to a new "bedbug-resistant" bed, featuring "an ultra-slippery coating, splayed legs that push the bed away from walls that bedbugs might climb, an angled metal frame that the bugs can't bore into and a mattress sealed in medical-grade nylon." more ›

In the wake of his arrest for breaking into a Connecticut bank while armed and drunk, Rip Torn's daughter tells the Post's Michael Riedel, "My father is a brilliant man, but so much has been wasted. He's pissed away so much—so much of his time and so much of his talent." more ›

It's not just paranoid Luddites who fear the sinister agenda of the new robotic L trains; train conductors, whom the MTA tried unsuccessfully to replace with robots, are still worried their jobs are in jeopardy. One "wild-eyed, grey-haired" conductor recently told Infrastructurist what he thinks of his new robot co-worker: "The last thing the public wants is to be stuck underground, getting mugged, with a robot conductor. People need people. I can call the cops, I can intervene. Last month I had to break up a knife fight. Well, I didn’t so much break it up but I called it in. A robot can’t do that." Another conductor struck a more fearful tone, "They could easily replace humans but don’t put my name next to it because I’ll be the first to lose my job to the robots. I’m definitely scared that could happen." Better hope the robots weren't reading your lips when you said that, foolish human! Sounds like someone better invest in some robot insurance. more ›

A New Yorker Talk of the Town piece investigates a fear that's been plaguing Upper West Side dogowners: Dognappers who prey upon beloved pooches (especially petite ones) in hopes of a payday. One dog owner explains, according to lore, "There's a two-man team, with one in a gray hoodie on a bicycle who comes by and slices the leash with a razor, then goes away with the dog. The other guy calls you up later on and says, 'Hey, I found your dog! What's it worth to you?'" While others have heard about this team and their dastardly M.O., even heeding advice like, "Don't leave your dog outside Starbucks. And don't use leashes that people can slice through," and keeping a careful eye out for bicyclists, the police at the 12th Precinct say there have been no dognapping reports in the past few weeks. A Brooklyn College poli-sci professor tries to explain the paranoia through the lens of the financial crisis, "A small dog creates a tremendous amount of emotional attachment, but at the same time it is a luxury item--and that's being taken away." more ›