Bodega worker killed after dispute in store spills outside in East Village
EAST VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- A bodega worker was killed while he was on the job in the East Village on Saturday night.
It happened just after 11:30 p.m. in front Abdul Saleh's family owned-business -- Sal's Deli & Grocery in the area of East 13th and Avenue B.
Eyewitness News Reporter Kemberly Richardson met Saleh in May 2025 as the city was looking to add more panic buttons in bodegas - his location did not have one.
Watch report from May 2025:
"Always something happens and no one really cares," Saleh said.
At the time, Saleh said he was worried about violence in delis that he had seen on social media.
"People got shot and killed and somebody gets robbed and police they come three, four hours late," he added.
Police say it started inside the deli. Witnesses say the video shows Saleh and the 28-year-old man arguing. It then spilled outside, where Abdul was shot in the stomach,
Friends say Saleh had just back from Yemen, where his family lives..
"He facetimed his daughter and shows her my dog...about half hour to 45 minutes before that happened," said Jack Lugo.
This, as this very tight knit community remembered a man who had a heart of gold.
"Even when I was younger, I would go in hungry and didn't have money and they said, don't worry, tell your father to just pay me back," said Ciara Lugo.
United Bodegas of America is wondering if the person who shot Saleh was someone who should not have been on the street.
"When you get away with something over and over again, you're going to commit a bigger crime every time. And we need to punish these people. We can't allow them to get away with it," said spokesman Fernando Mateo.
The man who walked into the bodega with a gun on Saturday night is believed to be in the hospital with a gunshot wound himself after one of his bullets ricocheted and struck him.
Police have not charged anyone, and United Bodegas of America says if the person who did this is still out there, they are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
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