Calls for Harlem smoke shop to close after gunman shot man in head inside store
NEW YORK -- The NYPD needs help tracking down an alleged murderer, who they say shot a man in the head inside a crowded smoke shop in Harlem.
The chilling violence spurred calls from the community to shut down the business.
It was a cold-blooded killing caught on camera. Two men were having a conversation in the back of the shop on Malcolm X Boulevard when one man turned his back and the suspect pulled out a gun.
The victim, 36, was shot and stumbled to the ground before the suspect shot him again in the head at close range. Then, the suspect, wearing a distinct, non-department issued FDNY jacket, rifled through the victim's pocket.
"I don't know what's going on in the neighborhood, but it really hurts me that people are getting shot and killed like that. It's sad," one person said.
The deadly shooting happened just before 8 p.m. Sunday. Neighbors were disturbed by the surveillance video and the fact that the store reopened for business less than 17 hours later.
"They opened right back up. They rolled the rug, it's not even off the floor where the blood is," said Lesha Sekou, founder of Street Corner Resources. "This is a disregard and a disrespect for life."
Families said the shop has been known to attract trouble. Six months ago, a retired NYPD detective was caught in the crossfire and injured during a shooting in front of the store.
"This is a place that needs to be shut down," said Sekou.
"Walking here, I don't feel safe. Sometimes this car stop here, and then they are fighting with the person. I'm just running, in case someone shoots," one woman said.
According to police, smoke shops across the city have been plagued by crime. Although the motive for this latest shooting is unknown, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said robberies in these establishments have soared since many started illegally selling cannabis.
"Right now the trend continues. We're up 10 percent in smoke shop robberies," Chell said at a hearing in March.
CBS2 reached out to the shop's owner for comment, but we did not hear back. An employee told us the clerk working at the time of the shooting quit.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.