Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street is closed this morning as police continue to investigate a fatal shooting late last night.
According to the Daily News, a 26-year-old man was shot and killed during an argument on Avenue A at 13th Street around 1:20 a.m.
Police say the victim was shot once in the chest. No other details are available at the moment. Will update this post when more information becomes available.
William Klayer shared this photo from the scene...
Updated 1:54 p.m.
According to the Daily Mail, "two groups of men were embroiled in a dispute on the corner of E. 13th St. and Avenue A" ... and an "unidentified suspect reportedly pulled out a gun and opened fire into the crowd of men."
Police identified the victim as Tyrell Williams.
Updated 7:32 p.m.
The Daily News has an update with a few more details, including quotes from the victim's mother. Williams was also a father of two.
On Sunday morning, the owners of Cafe Himalaya, the Tibetan/Nepalese restaurant at 78 E. First St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, arrived at the space to find that someone had broken the front lock ... and walked away with the cash register.
The owners posted about it on Instagram... and thanked patrons for offering support:
While this burglary adds to the already difficult year for a small business like ours, we’re just glad that nothing else was taken or damaged.
Thank you so much for your generous offer to donate through Venmo/gofundme — your generosity is truly appreciated.
However, the most sustainable and impactful way to support us would be to dine here, order delivery, or takeout. And tell your friends/family too! It’s truly the best way to show your love. (But if you happen to have an extra cash register lying around then we’ll gladly take it.)
The family-ownedrestaurant is open Tuesday-Sunday from 1-10 p.m. Find their website here. Or call: 212.358.0160.
The NYPD reportedly arrested Brooklyn residents James Allen, 72, and his 45-year-old son, Ed Allen, early Wednesday morning after allegedly taking an ATM on Clinton near Rivington. They were eventually caught in a stolen van on 52nd Street after a chase.
Police believe they may be behind a spate of ATM thefts of late, including one from outside Yankee Deli on Avenue C at 11th Street on Aug. 14. In this case, surveillance video shows a van pulling the ATM from the storefront, which was said to cause $10,000 in damage to the deli.
According to the Post, the senior Allen has 11 prior arrests while Ed has 53 prior arrests. Previous charges for both include assault and grand larceny.
The NYPD is searching for three teen suspects accused of robbing then punching a 74-year-old woman Thursday evening on 14th Street at First Avenue.
According to ABC 7, one of the teen suspects snatched the woman's purse. When she realized what happened, she tried to confront the teen and was sucker punched by one of his friends.
SHOCKING VIDEO: A 74-year-old woman was punched in the face when she confronted a group of teens for snatching her purse on a Manhattan street, police say
The victim, who reportedly refused treatment at the scene, has lived in NYC since 1963. She told ABC 7 that she wants to see this stretch of 14th Street "cleaned up."
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Updated 9/12: Police have arrested the couple.
Meanwhile, the NYPD is looking for a man and woman accused of assaulting an MTA bus driver on Astor Place this past Monday evening.
Per amNY, the 35-year-old bus driver was traveling on his M2 route when he witnessed the couple threatening another passenger. He reportedly ejected the pair on Lafayette at Eighth Street.
When the driver went on break a short distance away outside 51 Astor Place, the man and woman forcibly opened the door ... the man then told the woman beat up the driver. She then punched him in the face.
The NYPD has released information about a suspect wanted in connection to a robbery on an elevator last Saturday afternoon.
According to the NYPD, the man followed a 44-year-old woman into an elevator on First Avenue and Third Street (presumably Village View). As the doors closed, the man pulled out what looks like a screwdriver and demanded her wallet.
He reportedly took $100 from the wallet and handed it back to the woman.
In separate incident on Wednesday, a man tore off a gold necklace — valued at $2,000 — from the neck off an 86-year-old woman while she waited for an elevator at Peter Cooper Village on First Avenue. The Daily News has more details here.
There was an early morning report of a stolen ATM from outside Yankee Deli on Avenue C at 11th Street... the thieves ripped down part of the shop's rolldown gate in the process, as these photos via Vinny & O show ...
Police and reporters are on the scene...
Updated:
Apparently Yankee Deli recently refurbished the front of the storefront.
A longtime reader shared this photo...
Updated 9 p.m.
Owner Jose Collado tells CBS 2 that the robbery caused $10,000 in damage to the deli. The station also has the surveillance video of a van pulling the ATM from the storefront.
Here’re some still shots... take a good look please!
Anyone with information, please call 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can DM 📲 @NYPDTips too. There’s a 💵 #reward! pic.twitter.com/R5soCHFmFm
The NYPD released more images and surveillance video of the suspect wanted in connection with a slashing outside the Black Ant on Friday night. There's also up to a $2,500 reward for information that will help in the investigation.
As previously reported, the man, said to be drunk, showed up as the restaurant on Second Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street was closing and demanded to be served. Tensions escalated after staff wouldn't serve him.
The man reportedly then whipped out a knife while fighting with staff and other patrons. Spencer Grammer and her friend were among those jumping in to help.
Grammer, an actress known for her voice work on "Rick and Morty," was slashed on the arm while her friend was stabbed in the back. Both were treated and released from Bellevue for their injuries.
Grammer, an East Village resident, said this in a statement to USA Today: "My friend and I did what anyone else would do in the same situation. Several others, predominantly women, were also attempting to prevent the altercation from escalating."
ABC 7 is reporting that an intoxicated man slashed two diners who were trying to help restaurant workers last night on Second Avenue.
The incident was said to happen before midnight at Dia on Second Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street. [Updated: The location changed to Black Ant, right next door to Dia.]
Per ABC 7:
According to witnesses, the incident started when an intoxicated man approached restaurant workers and demanded to be served.
The workers refused to serve him a drink, which angered the man, and that's when the couple attempted to defuse the tense situation.
The man was slashed in the back and the woman in the arm.
The couple, said to be in their 20s, were treated and released from Bellevue. The NYPD has not released a description of the suspect.
Updated 9 p.m.
A lot more details about what happened have emerged throughout the day.
The location of the slashing has changed to Black Ant next door. The Post had six reporters on the story:
The mayhem erupted at around 11:30 p.m. at The Black Ant on Second Avenue, where a man, who appeared intoxicated, tried to get a table at the cozy eatery. He was rebuffed because the restaurant was about to close — sending him into a dyspeptic tailspin, multiple sources and bystanders said.
The drunk wouldn’t leave the restaurant, and instead began fighting with a male diner, who picked up a chair and began swinging it — and soon, more than a dozen employees and onlookers joined in the al-fresco free-for-all.
That's when Spencer Grammer, 36, and her friend Jan Phillip Mueller, 31, who were not originally involved in the argument, tried to diffuse the situation.
Per the Post, the suspect was "described as buff, bald and wearing a white shirt, and who may have had a female companion — had already fled on Third Street. Cops don’t believe the attacker was homeless, sources said."
The NYPD released this image of the suspect...
Grammer, an East Village resident, is a voiceover actor on Adult Swim's "Rick and Morty" and the daughter of Kelsey Grammer.
Police have a suspect in custody for the murder and dismemberment of tech CEO Fahim Saleh in his apartment on Houston and Suffolk Monday.
The New York Times has more on the suspect, identified as Saleh's former personal assistant.
Tyrese Devon Haspil, 21, was expected to be charged in a criminal complaint with second degree murder and other crimes.
Detectives believe that the motive for the killing stemmed from Mr. Saleh having discovered that the assistant had stolen tens of thousands of dollars from him, despite the fact that Mr. Saleh had not reported the man and had set up what amounted to a repayment plan for him to return the money, one of the officials said.
Saleh was found decapitated and dismembered on Tuesday. Police offices yesterday said that Saleh was stabbed to death. According to the NYPD and published reported, Saleh used a key fob to select his seventh-floor residence in the elevator Monday afternoon. Surveillance footage shows a man wearing black and carrying a bag following him on and acting like he selected a different floor.
When they arrived on the seventh floor, the man followed Saleh, possibly knocking him out with a taser.
Police believe the killer was interrupted at the scene by Saleh's sister, who had come to the building to check on her brother.
Updated 7/18:
Gothamist has a summary of the arrest and charges here. Haspil was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He was held without bail after his arraignment early today.
Story is updated at the bottom of this post. On July 17, police arrested the victims former personal assistant in the crime.
Media and police sources are reporting that the body of a decapitated, dismembered man in his 30s was found inside an apartment at 265 E. Houston St. on the corner of Suffolk.
An electric saw was found near the body, which was described as a man in his 30s. The victim’s legs and arms were completely removed, and body parts were found in plastic bags found in the apartment, the sources said.
And from NBC 4...
Senior law enforcement officials tell me the body was discovered when a family member performed a welfare check on them. Firefighters from 28 Engine responded in and made the grisly discovery. The members looked shaken when they exited the building. https://t.co/PgJTlC3xAi
The 10-floor building, completed in 2017, features units ranging from $2.45 million to $2.55 million, per previous real-estate listings.
Updated 6:45 p.m.
[Leslie Feinberg]
EVG correspondent Stacie Joy spoke to Leslie Feinberg, who owns Subject bar across Suffolk Street. Feinberg says that she saw the following transpire at around 3:30 p.m.: "a young woman, maybe late teens or early 20s sitting in the lobby crying, talking to about five or six officers. She was in there for about 30 to 45 minutes before a team of 20-plus law enforcement officers arrived and loaded her into a vehicle and took off."
The woman was identified by police and media sources as the victim's sister, who went to check on her brother after not hearing from him.
A police sergeant at the scene told Stacie that the "preliminary investigation is ongoing, looking to review video cameras, and the crime scene is still being processed." He confirmed that "a male torso was found in the apartment unit with his head, arms and legs removed."
Updated 9:45 p.m.
Details from the account in the Times. The 33-year-old victim was also believed to be the owner of the condo unit.
As for the grisly crime scene:
When detectives began investigating, they found the man’s torso and an electric saw nearby, two of the officials said. The man’s head and limbs were later found in the apartment, a Police Department spokesman said.
There were several plastic bags nearby, and it appeared that some effort had been made to clean up the evidence of what had happened, one of the officials said.
The man, Fahim Saleh (see updates below), was last seen alive in video surveillance on Monday afternoon. And the police have it least one lead:
One of the law enforcement officials said a surveillance camera had captured video of the victim on the elevator with another person who was wearing a black suit and a black mask.
On the video, the elevator door opens and victim goes into the apartment, the official said. The masked person follows the victim, going in right behind him, and the two immediately start to struggle, the official said.
Updated 7/15
The Daily Mailreported that the victim was Fahim Saleh, a millionaire tech entrepreneur who moved into his the seventh-floor residence late last year.
His LinkedIn profile reveals the former website developer was the CEO of a motorbike hailing company in Lagos, Nigeria.
The firm, Gokada, recently faced severe setbacks after being banned earlier this year by the Nigerian government.
It was forced to lay off staff and pivot from being a ride-sharing service to a delivery courier.
The ban came at a difficult moment for Gokada which had just raised $5.3 million in funding from Rise Capital, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, in May 2019.
Media outlets have described the suspect as a professional killer. He was reportedly also carrying a suitcase on the elevator. Police believe that the victim's sister may have interrupted the dismembering of Saleh's body. "Detectives are also looking to see if the killer was able to escape through another exit," per the Mail.
Updated July 19
Police have arrested Saleh's personal assistant, who is expected to be charged in the murder.
Detectives believe that the motive for the killing stemmed from Mr. Saleh having discovered that the assistant had stolen tens of thousands of dollars from him, despite the fact that Mr. Saleh had not reported the man and had set up what amounted to a repayment plan for him to return the money, one of the officials said.
In recap of shootings around the city this past weekend, the Postreported that a 41-year-old man was shot multiple times late Saturday night on Fourth Street west of Avenue C.
According to the paper, the man, identified by neighbors as Thomas Gonzalez, was shot in the chest "as at least three people rode up on bicycles — firing a barrage of at least nine shots" just after 2:30 a.m.
Gonzalez was reportedly visiting family members at the Bracetti Plaza. At the time of the shooting, he was talking to friends in seats near a kids' play area, per the Post.
His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, police said.
Anwar Hossain, who owns Anwar's Grocery at 106 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, arrived to work yesterday morning to find his front door knocked in and $1,200 missing from the cash register.
Anwar said that there isn't any video record of the burglary. He plans to ask the building's landlord for help getting additional plywood to prevent or deter another break-in.
While Anwar was sad about the burglary, he remains optimistic about the future and said he doesn't have plans to close the store. The grocery's hours will remain flexible for now.
Two attempted break-ins occurred this past Tuesday night at East Village Finest Deli on the southwest corner of Avenue B and Fourth Street.
The first attempt occurred when a man took a hammer to the door at 12:23 a.m. Several hours later, a man with a skateboard, possibly seeing that there was already a smashed door, tried to finish the job and get in at 4:38 a.m.
Manager Anwar Shahbain told me that Mohammad, a neighbor in the building across the street, screamed through the window at the perpetrators, potentially scaring them off while another neighbor called the police. (The store also has an alarm.)
Anwar expressed gratitude to his neighbors as well as to Sgt. Omar Elsayed at the 9th Precinct, who responded to the burglary attempts and called the family multiple times to alert them to the attempted break-ins.
Anwar arrived at 5:09 a.m. and spotted Mohammad, who was still standing in the window across the street, arms crossed, keeping an eye on the business.
East Village Finest Deli will keep their COVID-19-adjusted hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., but have boarded up the store with plywood for now.
And in the photo below (from the left) Ahmed Almulaiki, Mohammed Alaskari, Anwar Shahbain and Yusif Zindari ...
Eyewitness News is told NYPD officers responded to a report of a man with a knife at 6:40 a.m.
One man was shot and taken to Bellevue Hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
Will continue to update as more information becomes available.
Updated 7:50 a.m.
The incident reportedly occurred at the Healthy Greens Gourmet deli on the northwest corner...
BREAKING: NYPD investigating after sources say police shot a knife-wielding man who approached two officers inside a deli near East 10th and 3rd Ave. in #Manhattan this morning.
According to police, two officers were inside a deli when a man entered and got into a dispute with the clerk before pulling out a knife.
Police say officers ordered the man to drop the knife but he refused.
Police say officers then shot the man, hitting him once.
Updated 4:30 p.m.
A more complete picture of what happened is emerging. Here's the Post:
The officers walked into the Healthy Greens Gourmet on Third Avenue near East 10th Street around 6:40 a.m. when a 55-year-old man, holding a knife in his right hand, followed them inside, cops said.
The man then menaced the officers with the knife, prompting one of them to Tase him — but it did nothing to stop him, police said.
The suspect then got into a squabble with the store clerk, before making his way for the exit and shoving the second female officer on his way out, authorities said.
Outside of the store, he continued to motion toward his waistband and refused the officer’s repeated demands to stop advancing, cops said.
Several minutes before this encounter, the man was picked up on surveillance footage at Westside Market on Third Avenue at 12th Street taking a taking a bottled drink from the shop without paying for it.
A store manager said that the man "had been coming to the store for years and sometimes gets a bit agitated."
One of the officers tried to stop the man with a Taser, but the device did not work, according to a police department statement. The man shoved the second officer, and as he rushed outside, and she followed him. He was shot moments later, as he reached for a sheath on his belt, the police said.
“Once outside, the male continued to motion toward his waistband and refused the officer’s repeated demands to stop his aggressive advances,” a police summary of the incident said. “The officer, as well as an additional responding officer to the location, discharged their firearms and the suspect was struck in the arm and torso.”
More reader reports are coming in about East Village businesses broken into last night... Ben & Jerry's on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue took a hit... EVG reader Lola Saénz took these photos...
An ATM on the block was also cleaned out...
There are more reader reports of break-ins, including the Domino's on 14th Street and the Target on 14th and A.
Two businesses on Avenue A between Ninth Street and 10th Street were burglarized last night.
The front door was smashed in at Village Square Pizza... not known at the moment what was taken...
A few storefronts away, Tompkins Finest Deli & Grill was damaged during last night's break-in...
An EVG reader sent this message just before midnight:
Called 911 23 minutes ago about a group of people breaking into bodega on Avenue A ... they still haven’t come. The looters filled up a car full of shit, threw the register into the street and bragged about where they are heading next.
And in a subsequent message: "No cops have come. And they’re long gone."
Given the timing of the break-in, this occurred roughly 30 minutes after the start of last night's 11 o'clock curfew.
The NYPD yesterday released the dramatic body-worn camera footage from the deadly police-involved shooting early on Jan. 9 at Seventh Street and Avenue A.
As previously reported, two men, identified as Earl Facey and Richard Reid, got into an argument inside the Hayaty Hookah Bar at 103 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.
The fight escalated outside the club, when the two men — each reportedly carrying a .22 caliber handgun — fired at each other in a wild exchange that left bullet holes in adjacent businesses. (The video the NYPD released yesterday includes surveillance footage of the two men shooting at each other.)
The chase ended in front of 113 Avenue A, the address of Ray's Candy Store, where Facey was said by police to shoot Reid in the torso. Two uniformed officers who were on patrol nearby shot Facey on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street. Facey later died at Bellevue.
The release of the body-cam footage and subsequent narrative offered by the NYPD provides more details about the deadly encounter. In the video, the officers from the 9th Precinct are identified as Liam Murphy and Christopher McLaughlin. The officers arrived as Facey shot Reid, according to Det. Martin Brownlee of the NYPD's Public Information Division who narrates the video.
Facey did not comply with commands to drop his weapon and lie on the ground, Brownlee said. "He walked away from the officers still holding his firearm with his hands in front of him..."
According to Brownlee, as Facey walked south on Avenue A, "he outstretched his left arm." At this point, both officers fired at Facey. He was struck in the left hand and back, and fell to the ground in the crosswalk. Murphy fired two rounds and McLaughlin one.
The NYPD said that they are "releasing this video for clear viewing of the totality of the incident."
The video contains disturbing images — viewer discretion is advised.
As we exclusively reported on Jan. 10, Francisco Valera, a photographer and photojournalist/videographer, who lives in a front-facing apartment on Avenue A at Seventh Street, captured the aftermath of the shooting.
He shared this two-minute video that shows the moments after both Facey and Reid were shot. (The first 15 seconds of the video were filmed sideways.) In the clip below, two officers have their guns drawn, crouching behind a trashcan, looking toward Facey, in the green jacket lying in the intersection.
An unidentified voice can be heard yelling "two shooters down" and telling officers to "holster up." Officers can also be heard commanding passersby to "back off" multiple times.
In the street outside 113 Avenue A, officers are performing CPR on Reid, on his back in the white jacket. An unidentified man is seen pleading with the police. "Officer, please put him in a car. Put him in the car — you don't have a fucking second!" The sounds of an ambulance can be heard in the distance. The man turns to the north on Avenue A toward the approaching ambulance. He pleads with the officers again to take Reid to a hospital in an NYPD vehicle: "There's traffic because of this! What the fuck are you all doing!"
Viewer discretion is advised.
Police have said that both men were reputed gang members and have been linked to prior shootings.
Here’re pictures of the 3 paintings 🖼 the suspect took. You can also call the @NYPDTips hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) with any information—all tips can be kept CONFIDENTIAL. pic.twitter.com/QEX69v4ZV9
The NYPD is searching for a man who they say stole three paintings by the late graffiti artist Phase 2 from a fitness studio on Avenue C.
According to the police and published reports, the suspect tossed a brick through the window of the A2Z studio at 67 Avenue C between Fourth Street and Fifth Street on Jan. 15 at 3:40 a.m. Police did not provide a description of the suspect — just the above video clip.
Phase 2, who was born Michael Lawrence Marrow in the Bronx, was an influential graffiti artist who pioneered bubble lettering. He died from Lou Gehrig's disease in December. He was 64.
A New York City bodega worker fended off a would-be robber with a wooden sword.
The worker struck the robber on the head, sending him to the hospital with minor head injuries when he started demanding money and fighting him.https://t.co/vAvQ3kxLIa
Early yesterday morning, an employee at Community Grocery & Candy on 14th Street near First Avenue reportedly protected his store from a robbery attempt with a wooden sword stashed behind the counter.
Per the Daily News, the suspect, identified as Zachariah Vasquez, demanded money from the register.
Instead of handing over the money, Alomari Saleh produced the sword and struck Vazquez in the head.
The report does not mention if Vasquez had any weapon.
The NYPD is asking for the public's assistance in locating three suspects who are wanted in connection to an early morning assault on Jan. 1.
According to police, a 25-year-old man was assaulted by the three men near Ninth Street and Avenue A at 4 a.m. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital with a fractured skull and broken nose. According to the NYPD, the beating left the man with a traumatic brain injury.
Police sources said that the attack could have been the result of a prior dispute.
Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.
