Bronx Deli Worker, Father-To-Be Yahya Almuntser Mourned After Shooting
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police continued to search for a suspect in the shooting death of a Bronx bodega worker shot multiple times on Friday.
Those who knew the victim say he was hardworking and soon to be father, expecting a baby with his wife, reports CBS2's Reena Roy.
Flowers and candles were seen outside the B&A Gourmet Deli on Brook Avenue in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.
Residents said the store has been closed since Friday when, police said, 34-year-old Yahya Almuntser, who worked at the register, was shot in the chest five times.
"All I know is they had told me he got shot," said Julio Llerena, a coworker of the shooting victim. "I really don't even know what really happened."
On Sunday night, the NYPD releasing new video of a possible suspect. The person soon on the footage wearing a hoodie and using a walking stick.
Source told CBS2 the shooting does not appear to be random. The victim and suspect may have had some kind of relationship because no words were exchanged and nothing was taken from the deli.
Almuntser's landlord in Morris Park was stunned to learn of the killing.
"I didn't realize it happened to him. I'm surprised. Really, I'm stunned," Xueke You said.
He said Almuntser lived in the basement apartment with his wife during the last few years, and always worked the overnight shift. Just days ago, Almuntser told him his wife was in Egypt but would return soon because they were expecting their first child.
"I feel really bad, he's only been in the states not too long," said Llerena.
Over the weekend, area residents told CBS2's Lisa Rozner they fear for their safety knowing the suspect has not been caught. One customer previously told her:
"I go to the store every day with my son after school," Edith Robles said. "It's terrible. Someone ... you know someone you're used to seeing every day. I feel bad for his family, for the other guys that were there that had to experience that."
The Yemeni-American Merchants Association is now offering a $10,000 reward for help in finding the suspect.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682), logging onto the Crime stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enterings TIP577.
