NEW YORK — A person of interest is being questioned in connection with the fatal shooting of a Manhattan bodega employee and a string of other armed robberies in other boroughs over the past month, three law enforcement sources with knowledge of the law said Thursday. straight from the investigation.
New York Police Chief of Detectives James Essig confirmed Thursday that the suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was seen on surveillance footage throwing painter-style coveralls behind a building at some point after allegedly robbed a deli in the Bronx, which police say was 22 minutes after he is believed to have killed the Upper East Side clerk.
The suit was recovered Tuesday night about a half mile from another deli, Essig said, and was being processed.
The suspect is wanted in four New York City deli robberies since late February, though only last Friday night he proved deadly. Authorities did not identify the 67-year-old victim in what they called a “horrific murder” but described him as part of the community of East 81st Street y Third Avenue.
Those who left notes at a growing memorial knew the man as “Michael.”
A witness who had been in the store around 11:30 p.m. that night and escaped the terrifying moment told police the gunman walked in dressed in a full ensemble, the kind of white attire you’d see a painter wear in work, and a dark mask to hide his face.
The witness said the gunman pointed the gun at the witness and then ordered the person to lie down and empty their pockets. The suspect then directed his attention to the employee and began hitting him with the butt of the gun. While that attack was taking place, police say the witness ran out of the warehouse.
Once outside, the witness reported hearing a gunshot, according to the NYPD. The clerk was found dead behind the counter with a single bullet to the head. The gunman was seen fleeing the scene on a dark scooter.
Senior NYPD officials say it’s the same outfit and vehicle allegedly used by the same man in three other robberies, two before the deadly heist in Manhattan and then the one in the Bronx shortly after the Upper East murder. Side.
The two crimes that set the pattern occurred in Brooklyn. In the first case, on Saturday, February 25, police officers say they believe the same gunman entered the store. Sunset Bagel in Foster Avenue, he took out an amount of money and cell phones and fled the store on a dark scooter. She again she was wearing the dark face mask and painter’s overalls.
Days later, on March 1, he allegedly entered the Super Deli in Manhattan Avenue, this time late in the morning, and pretended to make a purchase. He then displayed the gun, announced a robbery and stole cigarettes and cash before riding off on the scooter. The Bronx deli robbery on Friday night after the Manhattan shooting was similar to that.
In all, police said the thief in the Hazmat suit has stolen more than $3,000 in cash. None of the other robberies involved deadly violence, and the NYPD says they understand how much the shooting, and the serial thief on the loose, is shaking up the community.
“‘We stand in solidarity with the thousands of hard-working New Yorkers who make a living at our neighborhood bodegas,'” NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Edward Caban said last week from the scene.
“We are all outraged by this act of violence. Every one of us here grew up in this city. We know what the neighborhood bodega means. For some of us, it was like an extension of our living rooms. The clerk behind the counter was as family. I’m not surprised that people have left cards, candles and flowers here,” Caban said.
Mayor Eric Adams weighed in earlier this week, imploring all business owners to have customers remove their masks before entering.
“Let’s be clear: Some of these characters who walk into stores wearing a mask, they’re not doing it because they’re afraid of the pandemic,” Adams said, adding that lowering the masks would allow cameras to get better video of faces.
The union that represents many wineries in the city also pushed for a change in the mask policy at all wineries, at the very least making masks temporarily lowered so they can see customers coming in. Some stores may also consider installing doorbells.
