Man dies after being shot in chest during robbery inside Highbridge deli
Police say a customer was found with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was rushed to a local hospital and pronounced dead Tuesday afternoon.
More Stories
Police say a 33-year-old man is dead after being shot in the chest during a robbery inside a Highbridge deli Tuesday morning.
Surveillance video shared with News 12 shows a man in a maroon hoodie enter the deli at 143 E 149th St. just after midnight and begin to fire multiple bullets at customers and employees.
Police say a customer was found with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was rushed to the hospital and later died Tuesday afternoon.
The gunman is seen on video heading behind the counter and digging through the cash register, as an employee lay curled up underneath him.
The shooter then heads to an exit, but not before grabbing a bag of chips out of the victim's backpack.
Police identified the suspect as 31-year-old Jesus Acosta of The Bronx. The NYPD confirmed that Acosta is also wanted for a Brooklyn homicide that occurred on Sunday, when he shot and killed a 44-year-old employee of American Best Wings & Pizza in Brownsville.
Acosta has a prior criminal record dating back to 2012. He was arrested by the NYPD's 43rd Precinct in 2012 for false impersonation and again in 2013 for criminal sale of marijuana.
He was arrested in 2015 on charges of reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
That same year, he was arrested on an attempted murder charge after he shot a 20-year-old man in the left arm following a verbal dispute near West 110th Street and Lenox Avenue. The victim was reported to be in stable condition.
Despite the shooting, the deli owner, Jose Bravo, tells News 12 he decided to open his store for the community.
"People come in, kids come for breakfast and everything. It's tough, but we have to open up for the community," Bravo says.
He also says his employees are OK but "shaken up" after the shooting.
The United Bodegas of America held a press conference following the attack and said panic buttons could have made the difference in alerting police much sooner to the robbery. They say only 500 bodegas in New York City have a panic button and are asking elected officials to fund more buttons to serve thousands of vulnerable stores.
"Every day there’s a shooting. I don’t know where the stats are coming from... because they are certainly not coming from our communities," said spokesperson for the UBA, Fernando Mateo.
The UBA also announced a $5,000 reward for anyone with information that could lead to the shooter.
News 12 spoke with neighbors who knew the man killed inside the bodega.
Friends knew him as “Pluccy” and described him as a “walking angel,” someone who never caused trouble and was always there to lend a hand.
Close friends fought back tears as they remembered him, telling News 12 how he always wanted to see the people around him do well.
“He pushed me to do well in school,” one person said.
“He was a brother to me,” another friend stated.
Friends have now set up a vigil for Pluccy outside the bodega. They say they are heartbroken that this happened to someone they considered to be a good man.
News 12 also spoke with the bodega owner, who was inside the shop when the gunfire broke out. He was scared but feels horrible that this happened to a man who didn't deserve to die.
The United Bodegas of America is offering a $5,000 reward for any information on the suspect.
Police say Acosta is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs about 175 pounds. He has the word “Bronx” tattooed on his hand and “Bobby” tattooed on his left forearm.
It’s still unclear what led to the gunfire and how much money was stolen.
