Search On For 2 Men In Bronx Christmas Morning Bodega Robbery
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police on Christmas Day were searching for two suspects who robbed a bodega at gunpoint in the Parkchester section of the Bronx.
Around 12:20 a.m. Monday, the suspects walked into Thunder Deli & Grill at 1735 E. 174th St. near Rosedale Avenue, displayed a gun, and demanded money from a 26-year-old employee, police said.
As CBS2's Jessica Borg reported, video shows the suspect roughing up the clerk. The clerk said one of the men jumped over the counter and placed his hands on the clerk's mouth, while the other man threatened him with the gun.
They yelled at the man to "shut up or be shot," the clerk said.
"(They said), "Don't move, don't say nothing. Don't – when you move, I'll kill you," said the victim, Haitham Almarh.
The suspects made off with $1,100 and Almarh's two cellphones, police said.
Almarh was not injured.
Customers were taken aback by the Robbery.
"I'm in here every day," said Daneen Terry. "I was probably in the store actually before it happened."
Terry said she has always felt safe at the bodega, but she was not surprised the hold-up happened when it did.
"Holidays," she said. "Times are hard, People get desperate."
One of the suspects was described as a black male about 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 190 pounds, the other as a black male standing about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds. Both were in their 20s and were last seen wearing black jackets and blue jeans, police said.
One of the suspects' faces was half covered, the other clearly visible. Almarh said he had not seen them before.
Anyone with information was asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS or (888) 57-PISTA for Spanish, log onto the Crime Stoppers website, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.