For Ahmed Saleh, Abdul was more than a best friend.
"We were friends but most likely brothers," he said.
The two worked out together, lived together and spent most of their days side by side.
"We lived together, we ate together. Yeah," he said.
Ahmed said Abdul pushed him to grow, even when he was afraid.
"I always thank him for that. That was one of the best things that stuck with me about him. He motivated me to do things even if I did not want to," Ahmed Saleh said.
Abdul's friends, all part of the same Yemeni community, said they never imagined losing him so suddenly. His roommate, Emmad Alasel, struggled to speak about the loss.
"He was close to me. We live in the same room. In the same apartment. You wake up in the morning, you don't find him. I'm sorry," Alasel said, choking up.
Police said Abdul got into a confrontation with a man known for harassing workers and customers outside the deli. Abdul's brother tried to intervene, but Abdul had already been shot. Ahmed said the news left him stunned.
"I mean I was just you know stuck in a phase where I couldn't believe it. I did not want to believe it. It just hit me hard that's it," he said.
A memorial has grown outside the shuttered bodega. A second store run by Abdul's roommates reopened Monday because, they said, the neighborhood needed them.
Customer Christine Maglio said the workers are part of the community.
"They become like family. They're in here everyday and we feel really bad about what happened," Maglio said.
Abdul had spoken out about violence at bodegas before. In an interview with Eyewitness News last year, he said, "People got shot, killed. Sometimes got robbed and the police never responds quick."
Police have charged 28-year-old Kavone Horton with Abdul's killing.
Police sources described Horton as a reputed gang member who was arrested during a federal takedown in 2016.
Alasel said the loss has shaken their sense of security.
"It's not safe. After Abdul die, it's not safe," he said.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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