FLATBUSH, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Police are searching for the suspect who stabbed a man multiple times at a bodega in Brooklyn.
The stabbing happened inside the Mini Mart on Church Avenue just before 5:15 a.m. on Friday.
According to the NYPD, it all started when a store clerk got into a verbal dispute with someone who may have been shoplifting.
Police say it escalated and a 30-year-old customer decided to step in and help the worker, but it apparently resulted in the suspect stabbing that man several times -- in the face, chest and arm.
First responders transported the victim to the hospital in stable condition.
One customer told Eyewitness News that people need to remain alert and, if possible, avoid situations like these.
"This is New York City, anything could happen, respectfully. The whole point is to just to avoid certain situations," the man said. "One of the one rules that any New Yorker knows is mind your business. He didn't, so I feel bad for his family, but stuff happens."
Meanwhile, residents like Brianna Harris say it's scary to hear about crime in your neighborhood.
"I think it's scary to think about any individual act of violence that's in your proximity. I only live two blocks away from here, but also I'm not very scared of my neighbors and generally people are good, and that's how things go along in New York City," she said.
The suspect, described as a man with a dark complexion wearing a black jacket, black pants and black Crocs, fled in a silver sedan.
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