A late-night altercation outside a Manhattan deli on Saturday escalated into a deadly incident, resulting in one man’s death and another’s injury, according to police and sources.Â
Shots were fired at the corner of Avenue B and East 13th Street in Alphabet City around 11:38 p.m., hitting two 28-year-old men in the abdomen, authorities reported.
“I was making the pizza and I heard a ‘pop’ and then after a while another ‘pop,'” an employee at Pop’s Pizza nearby recounted to the Post.Â
“One guy walked up the block, holding his belly, and sat down right here,” the pizza chef said, indicating a small bench in front of the store. “He sat down on the bench, holding his belly.”
The altercation began as a verbal argument inside a nearby deli, which then spilled onto the street, according to law enforcement sources.Â
Emmad El-Hassil, 31, who works at a deli a block away, identified one of the shooting victims as his cousin Abdul, who was employed at the deli.Â
“Guys that live in the neighborhood, they came into my store. And they said ‘Abdul got shot! Abdul got shot!'” El-Hassil shared.Â
El-Hassil added that his cousin had recently returned from a family visit in Yemen.Â
“He just started working again today,” El-Hassil noted.Â
The two shooting victims were taken to Bellevue by EMS. One was declared dead, while the other is in stable condition, according to officials.Â
It remains unclear if Abdul was the deceased victim.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.Â
