HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) — A suspect killed a man in a smoke shop in Harlem, then ran off.
It happened Sunday evening at a shop called ‘Candy Store.’ Detectives gathered evidence at the crime scene on 142nd Street and were looking at surveillance video showing a hooded gunman aiming and firing at a man behind the counter and taking off.
The business is an exotic candy shop, which is a smoke shop – similar stores have become targets of robberies since they have cash and re-sellable merchandise. It is not clear if what happened at this location had anything to do with a robbery, but anti-violence advocates in Harlem say shops selling marijuana unlicensed have been the scenes of too many crimes.
“I’m definitely concerned about all of the violence we’re seeing in smoke shops. I really wasn’t understanding why they had to be so regulated. I understand now,” said Iesha Sekou of Street Corner Resources.
Sekou works to prevent violence, and when it does happen she responds, to understand what happened and try to prevent more violence from happening as a result.
She says she understands why the many of city’s bodega workers want to arm themselves to feel safe, but she doesn’t think it’s a good idea.
“It’s not usually used to be safe. It’s often used in a bad decision, in a bad moment, and had the person thought it out they wouldn’t have used the gun if it was not so available,” she said.
Detectives combed the store and sidewalk on Sunday for evidence of what kind of gun was used, and who would do this — as the 30-year-old victim died at the hospital from his injuries.
“We have to do something. This is a young person who lost his life while working. And it’s horrible,” Sekou adds.
The victim’s identity has not been released. The shooter fled toward Frederick Douglass Boulevard and the search for him continues.
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