By The newspaper
06 Oct 2023, 09:35 AM EDT
Hussein Adam, a 23-year-old man, was arrested in Pennsylvania on suspicion of having fatally shot Bassam Khateeb while robbing his warehouse in Staten Island (NYC).
On July 8, Khateeb was found seriously injured by a customer who entered his Manor Deli & Convenience store in the Castleton Corners neighborhood. Paramedics took him to Staten Island University Hospital, but were unable to save him.
Almost three months later Adam was arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, according to police and court documents. Yaseen Bassuny, 21, a resident of Klondike Avenue in New Springville (NYC), had previously been arrested in this case, he recalled. SILive.com.
New York police and U.S. marshals were among the authorities who detained Adam in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, according to Patch.com.
Adam and Bassuny pleaded “not guilty” to all charges. Both suspects have been sent to Rikers Island, according to public records. All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Khateeb, a 35-year-old Pakistani immigrant and family man, worked tirelessly, scrimping and saving for nearly a decade until he bought that convenience store and became his own boss nine months before he was murdered. He left a widow and two orphaned children, those close to him said.
According to police, two intruders shot Khateeb in the chest while trying to rob the store. The thieves fled empty-handed, as there were no customers at the time.
It appeared to be a random crime, as videos captured the suspects first targeting a smoke shop on Richmond Ave. near Amsterdam Place. They were seen pulling on the closed door, but unable to enter. They quickly moved to the Manor Deli about four miles away.
After shooting Khateeb, the robbers fled and ran back to their red Jeep Cherokee, according to the video. They were last seen fleeing toward New Jersey on the Staten Island Expressway, police said at the time.
In New York, the interior and surroundings of warehouses are frequently crime scenes, both robberies and homicides. The NYPD has warned since last year of growing insecurity in businesses, including violent attacks involving employees and owners.
Thefts in New York City retail stores rose an alarming 81% during the first quarter of 2023, in many cases with violent attacks on employees and business owners. This was denounced in May by the group Collective Action to Protect Our Stores (CAPS-NY), which represents 5,000 establishments, including supermarkets and wineries, once again demanding that state congressmen approve laws against shoplifting. stores. They ask, among other things, for the imprisonment of thieves who attack workers.
Many owners have chosen to reduce hours and lock up merchandise due to the rise in thefts in stores, pharmacies and warehouses.
Last week, Cleveland Smith, a 35-year-old man, was shot to death inside a warehouse in The Bronx (NYC) to which he ran seeking refuge after being harassed on the street by two individuals. The attack was captured on a dramatic video released by DailyNews. Caution is recommended when observing it.
That case recalled the death in 2018 of Lesandro “Junior” Guzmán Feliz, a fifteen-year-old who ran into another warehouse in the Bronx to flee from a gang of gang members, but they dragged him to the street and hacked him to death, when he apparently found him. They confused him with a rival.
Days before Khateeb’s crime, a 50-year-old man with an extensive record of shoplifting was killed in a confrontation with a security employee at a CVS store in Times Square, a tourist mecca in New York.