THE BRONX — A worker in a Bronx bodega was shot and killed by police as he escaped an armed robbery in the store, police sources and witnesses said.
Reynaldo Cuevas, 20, and his uncle were in Natalie Grocery, at 1229 Franklin Avenue, when armed robbers burst in as the store was closing at 2 a.m., police sources said.
The victims were held hostage, but managed to escape just as police were arriving, the victim’s cousin told the Daily News.
As they sprinted from the store, Cuevas was shot in the torso by a cop, police sources and a witness said.
“The first guy ran out with his hands on his head,” said Jesse Rodriguez, 23, a neighborhood resident, of one of the victims.
“The second guy ran out and tripped by the fire hydrant,” he added, referring to Cuevas. “And the cops shot him.”
Cuevas, who was not armed, was shot once in the torso, police and witnesses said.
“People were screaming, ‘He works there! He’s an employee!” Rodriguez added. “He was innocent.”
Cuevas was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The circumstances of the shooting were still under investigation, police said.
Police sources said the cop who fired the shot believed Cuevas was a suspect chasing the first victim.
Cops made more than one arrest, police said, but did not provide further details.
Meanwhile, a marked police vehicle racing to the scene got into an accident, an NYPD spokeswoman said. An officer inside the car was injured and taken to a local hospital, she said, but was not seriously hurt.
Rodriguez said he spoke to Cuevas just four hours before the shooting.
“We were just talking about life, music, sports, baseball,” he said. “He was a Yankees fan.”
Alfredo Lambert, 27, remembered Cuevas as a hard worker who valued the bodega’s customers.
“He treated everyone with respect,” Lambert, a computer technician, said. “He was our little angel.”
The circus continues!
New York’s finest?!
Perhaps NYC has a point about not wanting armed citizens in the 5 boroughs. Assuming everyone acts as the NYPD with regards to firing weapons, I am not sure if I would want armed citizens. 😉
Kinda the point. Armed folks generally exercise a standard of caution apparantly missing with the NYPD.
damon: That’s because “armed folks” are held to much higher standard of accountability when they shoot someone than the thug scrum are. We don’t have apologists in the media, supervisors that give bad behavior a wink and a nod, along with co-workers that will make things up to cover for us if we screw up. On the contrary; at the federal L.E.O. level if you’re willing to shoot a woman holding a baby in Idaho and then move on to kill a few Texans (especially women and children) portrayed as religious fanatics, you might even get promoted. Back in the 60’s my dad had a cop tell him, “There’s no cop so stupid that when he shoots somebody he can’t find a brick or a bottle or something to put in his hand.” I doubt much has changed since then other than to get worse.