Student Stabbed to Death Inside Queens Barbershop: Police

A college student was stabbed to death inside a Queens barbershop Thursday afternoon in an apparent dispute over a pair of headphones the victim sold to the suspect, police and family members say. 

Carl Richardson, 19, was stabbed in the stomach inside the business at 227-14 Merrick Blvd. in Laurelton, police say.  He was taken to Franklin General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

Richardson's parents told NBC 4 New York their son recently started selling headphones to earn extra money to buy his own car. Earlier in the week, Richardson sold a pair to a 34-year-old barber named Cedric Simpson at Select Stylez, where the teen was a regular customer.

When Richardson returned to collect his money on Thursday, his parents say Simpson refused to give him the money or return the headphones. 

They fought, and Simpson then allegedly stabbed Richardson, the teen's parents were told.

"Forty or 50 dollars? I don't understand what the problem was," said Carl Richardson, the victim's father. "If he didn't want them, he could have given them back. To refuse to pay him and do this, I don't understand it." 

Simpson was arrested at the scene on charges of murder and criminal possession of weapon. It's not clear if he had an attorney. 

Richardson's parents' house was filled Thursday night with their son's friends and classmates. He was attending Nassau County Community College, with dreams of becoming an occupational therapist. 

"He wanted to help kids," said Johann Richardson, the teen's mother. "That was his goal. That was his dream." 

--Katherine Creag contributed to this report. 

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