A callous shoplifter brutally stabbed a Bronx gas station employee over the weekend as he tried to stop the thief, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police said the unidentified intruder was attempting to steal from a kiosk at the BP Station in Westchester Square near East Tremont Avenue around 1 a.m. Sunday when a 25-year-old male employee stopped him. It is said that
Authorities say the enraged man pulled out a knife and stabbed the employee in the neck, arm and head.
The man was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition Monday, police said.
It is unclear what items the violent scammer took possession of before fleeing the scene.
Surveillance video and photos released by the NYPD show a bald suspect, believed to be about 50 years old and 180 pounds, standing at the counter.
He was wearing a gray hoodie with the word “New York” and the number 35 on it, black pants and burgundy sneakers.
He had not been captured by late Monday afternoon.
United Bodegas of America is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. It noted that the brutal attack occurred just 10 days after a 29-year-old mother was stabbed to death during a broad daylight fight indoors. A deli in the same ward.
Gwendolyn Guyton was inside the Jose Mini Market on Southern Boulevard near East 149th Street on Oct. 3 at about 3:15 p.m. when an assailant burst in and attacked her, authorities said. After a struggle, he allegedly stabbed her with a knife multiple times in her neck and torso. Witnesses.
Police said the woman who killed her fled the store on a white motorcycle but has not yet been captured.
Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for the bodega workers' organization, condemned the recent attacks, lamenting that “bodegas are under siege and our communities are suffering.”
“MS. Guyton's death and the recent stabbings are part of a larger crisis, and we must act now to stop this violence,” Mateo said. “Bodegas need to be safe havens for everyone, and we call on our elected officials to step up and support our mission to build safer neighborhoods.”
The number of felony assaults within the NYPD's 49th Precinct, which covers the gas station attack area, has increased by about 16.5% compared to the same period in 2023, according to the latest data. Meanwhile, the number of robberies within the precinct has decreased by about 13%.
Anyone with information about this violent crime can call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) please.
The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website. https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ Or with X @NYPDTips.
