NEW YORK (PIX11) — A 22-year-old man wants to remain anonymous.
He is worried about the two men police say came into the Essex Convenience Smoke Shop on East 116th Street and robbed him and the store clerk. Just before midnight on Friday, he was in the store when they walked in, at first acting like customers.
That quickly changed.
One suspect whipped out a knife and the other a gun.
“As soon as he took it out, he pointed it at me. He walked up to me, and I put my hands up. It was like a silver revolver. It had a chamber on it. And he pistol-whipped me in the head, like in front of the freezer,” said the victim.
The victim had never seen the two suspects in the store before this, but they seemed panicked that someone would walk in on the robbery.
Authorities say one suspect was wearing a blue ski mask, and the other was wearing a black hat with a white logo.
“They were also paranoid that there were people in the back room. They were like there is no one in the back? When they had me emptying out my pockets, he was telling his other boy: It is taking too long. I do not like this.”
He says the accused robbers snatched his cellphone, wallet, and about $300 dollars from the cash register.
They were headed for the door when the 34-year-old store clerk decided to fight back and he was attacked, stabbed, and shot by the suspect.
Police say the worker was shot in the groin. Both men were taken to Harlem Hospital. The customer needed two staples for his head injury but says he is okay.
“They are just sad. They are scum, pathetic, and they are going to get what they deserve.”
The suspects dropped the victim’s belongings on the way out, but police are still searching for them.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
