A 36-year-old man has been killed after being shot in the head and neck at a smoke shop in Harlem, police said.
Footage inside the store shows the gruesome moment the man is shot as he turns to leave the busy shop on Lenox Avenue just before 8pm on Easter Sunday.
Seconds earlier, he appeared to be having a conversation with the gunman, who police are still looking for and who was said not to have worked for the store. The victim also seemed to be talking to an employee behind the counter.
Video shows the victim raising a hand to the attacker on his way out. The gunman then pulls a gun from his pocket and shoots him. The other customers quickly flee.
The victim struggles to get to his feet before the attacker shoots him a second time. He was later taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The killer reaches into the victim’s pockets before the video ends. It is not clear what triggered the attack, although police chiefs warn that the number of robberies at smoke shops has risen by 10% this year.
The victim (seen in brown) is initially seen in the store with several other customers
After apparently talking to the gunman and assistant, he turns to leave the smoke shop
The gunman approaches after shooting the target in the neck, while the store is empty
Police reported the incident shortly after the attack yesterday.
They said they were looking for a black man with black pants, an FDNY EMS jacket with lettering on the back, a black hat and gray sneakers.
At 9:26 p.m., it was reported that the man had been pronounced dead.
They said an investigation into the attack was ongoing and they had recovered two shell casings from the site.
In a New York City Council public safety to belong in March, police chief John Chell said robberies against promotional merchandise stores had risen 10% this year.
This reinforced last year’s existing upward trend. In 2022, 599 violent thefts were reported, an increase of 138% compared to 2021.
Two days earlier, a smoke shop employee was killed during an armed robbery in Queens.
Surveillance footage captured gunfire as three were seen running out of the Plug Smoke Shop on the corner of Jamaica Avenue.
Police said Daryus Clarke, a 20-year-old employee, was shot dead in the attack.
The store had only been open for a few months. An employee of a nearby store told CBS “many smoke shops are being robbed…several people from the neighborhood I’ve never seen before.”
Police said the suspects escaped in a white Toyota with $100 in cash and $50 in merchandise.
Police are battling violent crime in some of the new stores, which have opened since New York legalized recreational marijuana in March 2021 and opened its first legal store in December 2022.
In October 2021, store CCTV captured the moment when a brazen robber attempted to rob a store in the Bronx, jumped over the counter before being punched by a group of store clerks and fled.
Police again appealed for information to help capture the suspect, offering $3,500 for helpful information.
Separately, police were photographed earlier this year raiding unlicensed shops after they were caught selling cannabis to underage customers.
It is legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to three ounces of cannabis and up to 24 grams of concentrated cannabis for personal use in New York, but sellers require separate licenses.
There are separate ones laws limiting the sale of paraphernalia.
Post-attack footage shows police gathering around the store and putting up tape
The victim was shot twice by his attacker and was later pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital
The victim fled and is still a fugitive, according to the police, who ask for information
Police are appealing for witnesses to help track down the suspect responsible for the attack
Witnesses with information that could assist police in the case of Sunday’s Lenox Avenue shooting can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visit crimestoppers.nypdonline.org.
They can also download or text the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app to 274637 (CRIMES) and then enter TIP577.
Spanish-speaking callers are asked to call 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).