Murder charges on hold for worker in deadly stabbing at Harlem fish store
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- One man is dead, his brother is facing charges and so is the man that allegedly stabbed them inside a Harlem fish store on Tuesday
The employee, 34-year-old Junior Aquino Hernandez, was originally charged with murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon after he apparently stabbed two brothers, one fatally, who are accused of acting disorderly and attempting to steal fish.
However, the Manhattan district attorney decided on Thursday to only pursue assault charges against Hernandez because prosecutors say they are investigating whether or not the stabbing may have been justified.
Also on Thursday, it was announced that the surviving brother, 29-year-old Robert Burrell, was charged with robbery, burglary, and assault. He is expected to be arraigned some time on Friday.
It happened at Express Fish Market on St. Nicholas Place just before 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Police say one of the men was said to have attempted to steal a container of shrimp and was thrown out of the store. A short time later, he returned with his brother.
The brothers, 25-year-old Malik Burrell and 29-year-old Robert, immediately became disorderly, throwing stools at the counter area while attempting to grab fish.
As they got closer to the fish store employees, Hernandez allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed them both.
Both were stabbed in the torso and taken to Harlem Hospital, where Malik died Wednesday morning. Robert is in stable condition.
The brothers' family says Malik should've been celebrating his 25th birthday and instead they were planning his funeral while his brother recovers from stab wounds.
The amount of blood at the scene was too graphic to show.
His loved ones showed up to the scene to talk to Eyewitness News, hoping to set the record straight. They say that the brothers weren't trying to steal anything.
According to the family, Robert was at the market picking up food for his brother Malik's birthday.
Malik showed up later, expecting to help his brother with the food, but ended up getting fatally stabbed.
The family says the brothers had no reason to steal, and that the allegations are wrong.
"I had my whole family, my granddaughter, everybody sitting in there, waiting for them to come back from the store with the daggone, with the food they were supposed to be cooking and they never made it back," their father said. "My sons don't have any reason to take anything, they have money. They have money. I have money. You know what I'm saying, they have jobs."
Police say 34-year-old Hernandez left after the stabbing. Detectives told his boss to call him back, and he returned and was taken into custody.
In one of the camera angles recovered by detectives, the two brothers appear to be stabbed as they are pushed out the restaurant's front door by other workers.
Detectives are going frame-by-frame through this video as their investigation continues.
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
