Fatal Shooting in Midtown 7-Eleven; Gunman Still at Large
Reports indicate that a man who regularly asks customers for money was shot in the neck, killing him. The unidentified gunman fled, and remains at large.
A gunman shot another man dead after an argument inside a Midtown 7-Eleven convenience store on the morning of Feb. 12, police said. The suspect fled southbound on Eighth Ave., and has not been identified or apprehended.
Police said the suspect was described as a man wearing a dark green puffer jacket, dark colored pants, and a black face mask.
Cops from the Midtown South Pct. and EMS responded to a 9/11 call for the shooting inside the store, located at 589 8th Ave. (on the corner of W. 39th St.), at around 10:27 a.m. They discovered an unidentified man dead on the scene, who had been shot in the neck.
“I know the man that was killed,” a poster on the Citizen mobile app wrote. “Use[d] to get him coffee or food. He would hold the door open when you go in and ask for anything you can get him. May he rest in peace.”
While several sources said the victim usually held a post at the front door, in this case he was said to be inside the door when words were exchanged with the gunman. It’s unclear what triggered the argument.
A male eyewitness told amNewYork that he heard the pair exchange expletives, then saw the shooting unfold.
“I was inside for two seconds,” the eyewitness said. “I looked down. I heard an argument happening. I heard: p***y, p***y, p***y, and then the shooting.” He said that he, and all the other customers inside at the time, turned and ran to safety outside.
Hours after the shooting, the store remained roped off, with police vans and press lingering beyond the police tape. A grocery bag sat on the ground outside of the store, possibly belonging to the victim.
A woman outside the store was told that a man had been shot. “Inside? I was just going to go in there,” she can be heard commenting on the Citizen app.
”Well you can’t go in there now,” another bystander informed her.
”Insane,” commented another voice.
Thomas Lane, who works at the front desk a few doors down at 589 Eighth Ave., told Straus that “he didn’t hear any shots or anything.” He had heard sirens, however, and figured they’d be heading somewhere else.
Cops started “cordoning” off the block, Lane added. “They weren’t very forthcoming, because they were busy.” He then told all of the tenants in his building to exit out of a back door, and then shut the front entrance to his own building.