Police: NYC Bodega Worker Fatally Shot for Refusing to Buy a Man a Cigar

Law enforcement says a bodega worker was fatally shot in the head on Monday in New York City after refusing to buy a cigar for a man who asked him to.

The incident happened around 4:00 p.m. on Franklin Avenue in the Crown Heights neighborhood. Police officers who responded to a call about the shooting found the 37- year-old victim with a gunshot wound to his head, Fox 5 reported Monday.

Crews rushed the victim, identified as Nazim Berry, to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

An image shows the victim in the case:

NYC bodega worker fatally shot in head over refusal to give away Black & Mild cigar, mother says https://t.co/U8fgDijALz

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His coworkers told the victim’s mother that the shooting occurred after a man asked him to buy a Black & Mild cigar for him. When Berry said he would not, an argument ensued and the man allegedly went to get a gun, then returned to the scene.

The two men fought over the gun, but the man allegedly then shot Berry. The woman also explained her son was never in trouble and had been a long-time employee at the bodega.

“I knew it was senseless. I knew that it had to be over something stupid because I know his heart,” she said when speaking of the shooting.

Video footage shows what appears to be the moment the shooting happened, with the sound of one gunshot ringing out in the area, per CBS New York.

Seconds later, someone is seen running down the sidewalk:

“Not a trouble maker. I don’t know how this happened. It’s very sad,” one neighbor told the outlet. The report also noted that the group United Bodegas of America is offering a $10,000 reward for information in the case that leads officials to find the killer.

Neighbors have since created a memorial outside the bodega where Berry worked. An image shows numerous candles sitting just outside the store’s closed doors:

According to Pix 11, community members knew Berry well. The outlet also said surveillance footage recorded from inside the bodega caught the shooting on camera. However, police have yet to release that footage:

Law enforcement officers are still working to find the suspect in the case.