By The newspaper
02 Apr 2024, 09:28 AM EDT
Stefon Barnes, a 29-year-old young man, was shot to death while ordering breakfast at a grocery store in the middle of a confusing and violent robbery in the Bronx (NYC) early on Easter Sunday.
Barnes was inside “Tremont Gourmet Deli” on E. Tremont Ave. near Marmion Ave. in East Tremont around 4:20 a.m. Sunday when the shooting began, the NYPD said. Barnes’ father claimed that his son was eating breakfast after a shift working as a party promoter, one of two jobs he had.
A 29-year-old man is fatally shot fighting off a gunman trying to rob him in a Bronx deli, police say
Stefon Barnes was confronted about 4:20 am Sunday inside Tremont Gourmet Deli in East Tremonthttps://t.co/2H37vaoHvQ
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) April 1, 2024
“[Son] parties for kids their age, like little dance parties,” Martin Barnes told the Daily News. “She left that party and was having breakfast inside the store.”
The victim appeared to be looking at a shelf of food while a masked man fought with another man near the door of the store, according to the security camera recording. Customers inside, including Barnes, appeared to be unaware of the assault. Even some young people, one of them wearing bunny ears for Easter, danced while filming a video.
The assault caught the attention of the employee behind the counter, who flagged down a co-worker to take a look. At that point, as the assault escalated, another person broke into the warehouse in an apparent attempt to help the man who was being robbed.
When the door opened, a shot was fired that appeared to hit Barnes, who was not involved in the confusion, according to surveillance footage. He was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died. The gunman fled and has not been arrested.
Gun violence is constant in New York. The day before, also in the Bronx, a 2-year-old baby was injured in a street shooting in the middle of the afternoon.
In particular, the interior and surroundings of warehouses are frequently crime scenes, both robberies and homicides. Last month, a 19-year-old teenager was fatally stabbed outside a Brooklyn (NYC) bodega and her twin sister was injured after rejecting a man’s advances, according to a witness.
Days before, a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a warehouse employee in the head in the middle of an alleged argument over a cigarette.
Many owners have chosen to reduce hours and lock up merchandise due to the rise in thefts in stores, pharmacies and warehouses.