Family, witnesses shocked after grocery worker beaten to death while sweeping sidewalk in Harlem
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- Family members and eyewitnesses are speaking out after a grocery store worker was beaten death outside his store by a homeless man.
The deadly incident unfolded outside Food Universe on West 138th Street and Broadway in Hamilton Heights on July 7.
Police say 63-year-old Bernardo Gonzalez Perez was sweeping the sidewalk when he got into a dispute with a homeless man named Carlos Ramirez.
Ramirez allegedly picked up a large plank of wood and hit Perez on the head multiple times.
Surveillance video outside the store showed Perez lying motionless in the middle of the sidewalk.
"There were a lot of people here. A lot of people looking, calling 911," witness Nathalie Rodriguez said. "I also called too because I saw him on the floor and he was trying to a to get up, but he couldn't because he was weak."
"We tried to wash his face with water because of the blood and he tried to stand up," witness Stephany Montero said.
Sadly, the 63-year-old was never able to get up on his own. Perez was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside, but never regained consciousness. He died four days later.
Also seen in surveillance video, is a man placing what appears to be a wooden board into a trash bin along with other boards.
Ramirez was placed under arrest and charged with assault in connection with the death.
As for Perez, he was one of 13 siblings, five of whom live in the U.S., all in the Bronx. They aren't doing well at all.
His sister says he was gentle, affectionate, cheerful, and happy. She says he was a good man and the best of their family.
Perez had only been working at the supermarket for two weeks. Last year, he retired after working 30 years in housing but decided to go back to work because he was bored at home.
A memorial has been growing outside the grocery store he worked at.
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