An employee at a South Jamaica bodega survived a brush with death on Saturday morning when he was grazed in the head by a robber’s bullet during an attempted stickup.
Law enforcement sources said the robbery bid occurred at 12:43 a.m. on Feb. 2 inside the 110 Gourmet Deli located at 110-10 Sutphin Blvd.
Police released on Feb. 5 video footage of the incident, in which three suspects walked into the shop and approached the 27-year-old male employee. Authorities said a fourth individual connected to the failed heist waited outside the bodega, acting as a lookout.
According to the NYPD, one of the three bandits displayed a silver handgun and demanded money from the cash register. When the employee refused, authorities said, the suspect opened fire. The bullet wound up grazing the employee’s head.
After opening fire, the three suspects fled from the store, and took off with the lookout on foot; they were last seen heading westbound on 110th Avenue.
Officers from the 113th Precinct and EMS units responded to the incident. Paramedics took the injured employee to Jamaica Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Police described the suspects as black men wearing either black, blue or dark-colored hooded jackets or sweatshirts. One of the bandits wore blue jeans and black-and-white sneakers; a second perpetrator wore black sweatpants and black sneakers; the third man wore dark-colored jeans and black sneakers; and the fourth individual wore a blue scarf on his face, blue pants and red or orange sneakers.
Anyone with information regarding the attempted robbery or the suspects’ whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA), visit the Crime Stoppers website, send a direct message on Twitter to @NYPDTips or a text message to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
