Delivery man killed in fight over Chinese food order: angry customer arrested

“We are all relieved that someone has been arrested,” widow Eva Zhao said today, in a statement quoted by Daily News. “We are grateful to the NYPD and have every confidence that the Queens District Attorney will bring justice to Zhiwen Yan, a loving and kind husband, father, son, friend and community member.”

A witness told police that Yan was shot the driver of a Lexus SUV who then sped away from the crime scene. The victim worked for more than a decade at “Great Wall”, a restaurant on Northern Boulevard whose manager, Kai Yang (53), alerted the NYPD about a problem customer who was driving the same type of vehicle and with whom they had had problems in November and January.

Police quickly zeroed in on Hirsch, but were slow to gather enough evidence to charge him. He was taken into custody without incident last night, an NYPD spokesman said. Several agents were inside the defendant’s apartment hours later, while he continued the investigation.

“Zhiwen Yan was a beloved member of her Queens community whose tragic murder in April was heartbreaking,” The commission published earlier today on Twittera of the New York police, Keechant Sewell. “@NYPDDetectives never wavered in their investigation, now arresting 51-year-old Glenn Hirsch. He has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.”

It was originally said that the supposed dissatisfied customer had a history of armed robbery, and had got into an argument with Yang, the victim’s boss, over not enough duck sauce on a Chinese food order.

Yan was on his way to his next food delivery when he was shot in the chest and fell from the scooter. Paramedics took him to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he died, just 45 years old. He left a widow and three orphaned children. He also had two other jobs to support his family.

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