Kevin C. Downs for NY Post A late night argument outside a Manhattan deli turned deadly on Saturday– leaving one man shot dead and another wounded, cops and sources said.
Gunfire erupted at the intersection of Avenue B and East 13th Street in Alphabet City around 11:38 p.m., striking two 28-year-old men in the abdomen, cops said.
“I was making the pizza and I heard a ‘pop’ and then after a while another ‘pop,’” an employee at nearby Pop’s Pizza told the Post.
“One guy walked up the block, holding his belly, and sat down right here,” the pizza chef said, pointing to a small bench in front of the store. “He sat down on the bench, holding his belly.”
The shooting started as the result of a verbal dispute that began in a nearby deli and spilled out in the street, law enforcement sources said.
Emmad El-Hassil, 31, works at another deli a block away, and said one of the victims of the shooting was his cousin Abdul, who worked at the deli.
“Guys that live in the neighborhood, they came into my store. And they said ‘Abdul got shot!’ Abdul got shot!’” El-Hassil said.
El-Hassil said that his cousin had just gotten back from a trip to Yemen, where he’d been visiting family.
“He just started working again today,” El-Hassil said.
The two victims of the shooting were rushed to Bellevue by EMS. One victim was pronounced dead, while the other is in stable condition, according to authorities.
It is unclear whether or not Abdul was the victim who died.
There are no arrests, and the investigation is still ongoing.
