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East Village Deli Shooting: Beloved Worker Killed, Neighbors Bereft

The 28-year-old victim, who worked at Sal’s Deli & Grocery on the corner of Avenue B and East 13th St., had just returned from visiting his family in Yemen.

East Village /
| 26 Apr 2026 | 11:09
    There were candles, flowers and a handwritten sign at a growing, makeshift memorial outside Sal’s Deli and Grocery were Abdul Saleh worked. He was killed after a scuffle with another man on the night of April 25.
    There were candles, flowers and a handwritten sign at a growing, makeshift memorial outside Sal’s Deli and Grocery were Abdul Saleh worked. He was killed after a scuffle with another man on the night of April 25. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly)
    District leader Ciara Lugo said the death of 28-year-old deli worker Abdul Saleh is “a great loss to the community”
    District leader Ciara Lugo said the death of 28-year-old deli worker Abdul Saleh is “a great loss to the community” ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly)
    A police cruiser from the 9th Pct sits outside Sal’s Deli where 28-year-old Abdul Saleh worked. He was killed after a scuffle with an unidentified man.
    A police cruiser from the 9th Pct sits outside Sal’s Deli where 28-year-old Abdul Saleh worked. He was killed after a scuffle with an unidentified man. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly)
    Jack Lugo, a neighborhood resident who put up the handwritten sign, lights a candle in memory of deli worker Abdu Saleh who was killed on April 25.
    Jack Lugo, a neighborhood resident who put up the handwritten sign, lights a candle in memory of deli worker Abdu Saleh who was killed on April 25. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly)
    An unidentified man staggered to the bench outside Pop’s Pizza on Avenue “B” after a scuffle with Abdul Saleh who worked in Sal’s Deli. Both had gunshot wounds. Saleh died of his wound.
    An unidentified man staggered to the bench outside Pop’s Pizza on Avenue “B” after a scuffle with Abdul Saleh who worked in Sal’s Deli. Both had gunshot wounds. Saleh died of his wound. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly)
    Miguel (far right), a patron of Sal’s deli said he’d often sit for hours enjoying coffee with worker Abdul Saleh. Emory (left) said he’d often sweep up outside the store.
    Miguel (far right), a patron of Sal’s deli said he’d often sit for hours enjoying coffee with worker Abdul Saleh. Emory (left) said he’d often sweep up outside the store. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly)
    A handwritten sign outside Sal’s Deli & Grocery is in memory of Abdul Saleh, a beloved neighborhood fixture who was killed after getting in a dispute with another man on April 25.
    A handwritten sign outside Sal’s Deli & Grocery is in memory of Abdul Saleh, a beloved neighborhood fixture who was killed after getting in a dispute with another man on April 25. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly)
    An argument erupted inside Sal’s Deli on E. 13th and Ave. B, and spilled across the street where worker Abdul Saleh and another man suffered gun shot wounds on April 25. Saleh died.
    An argument erupted inside Sal’s Deli on E. 13th and Ave. B, and spilled across the street where worker Abdul Saleh and another man suffered gun shot wounds on April 25. Saleh died. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly)

A young woman stopped in front of Sal’s Deli & Grocery on the corner of East 13th Street and Avenue B on Sunday April 26 and noticed a growing makeshift memorial. “Abdul was shot last night,” said neighborhood resident Jack Lugo, referring to a beloved worker at the deli, “and he died.”

“Oh my God,” she said.

”Everybody knew Abdul,” said Lugo.

Police identified the victim as Abdul Saleh, 28. The name of the other man, who also suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, had not been revealed by police at press time.

Saleh’s address was listed as 542 E. 14th St. Neighborhood residents said he lived there with other family members who worked at the nearby Brothers Deli & Grocery, a block away from the scene of the fatal encounter. Like Sal’s Deli, the Brothers Deli & Grocery was closed, it’s metal grey gates drawn down, on Sunday.

”He is going to be missed,” Jack Lugo told Our Town Downtown. Lugo was at the deli when the argument erupted on the night of April 25. The next morning, he taped an “R.I.P Abdul” sign on the gate of the shuttered storefront as others in the neighborhood stopped by the deli on 216 Ave. B.

“It’s a great loss to the community,” said Ciaria Lugo, a district leader and Jack’s daughter. “I could not believe it,” she said. “The family is so sweet. They all have a sense of humor.”

“He was a loved, pillar of the community,” agreed the elder Lugo.

He said the dispute spilled out of the store and across the street to the southeast corner of Avenue “B” and East 13th Street. Lugo said the other person had the gun and shot Abdul. Abdul fell on the street.

It isn’t clear how the still unidentified person was wounded. After he was shot, however, he tried to flee but only made it as far as Pop’s Pizza, a half block away.

Said a worker at Pop’s of the wounded man, “he came and sat on the bench,” which was on the street outside the shop. EMS ambulances rushed both the man and Saleh to Bellevue Hospital, where Saleh was pronounced dead.

A steady customer of Sal’s Deli named Miguel said he stopped in the store only an hour before the shooting. “I was getting a ham and cheese sandwich for my grandfather,” said Miguel, who lives a block away but said he only heard the devastating news about Abdul when he awoke on the morning of April 26.

“I was always the guy sitting in the corner having my coffee every morning,” he said, noting he’d often pass the time in the store for hours. But there was no coffee today. ”He just got back from visiting his family in Yemen,” added Miguel.

”I can’t believe it,” he said, looking forlornly across the street.

A friend named Emory stood with him across the street. “I used to sweep up the street outside the shop,” he said, looking on through grief stricken eyes.

While police would seemingly know the ID of the second man, his name has not been released. Police said there are no arrests and the investigation is continuing.