A bodega worker caught on video stabbing a man to death in a dispute over a free breakfast has been charged with murder, police said.
Ahmed Hafeed, 22, was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, the NYPD said. He was arraigned around midnight Sunday and his next court date was set for Sept. 28, according to the Manhattan DA's Office.
The 46-year-old victim, whose name hasn't been released, was stabbed after twice visiting A&S Candy Grocery Inc on 145th Street near Lenox Avenue, police said. In the first visit, police say the man asked for free food, then threatened the bodega’s clerks when they told him "no."
Police and the store’s owner said the man returned a short time later, setting off the fatal fight. Bodega manager Ali Naji, who wasn’t there at the time, said that the man stabbed Hafeed in the hand.
Surveillance footage obtained exclusively by News 4 then shows the fight moving outside. The two men struggle, both going to the ground on the edge of the sidewalk as cars and pedestrians pass by.
While they’re on the ground, the footage shows them locked close together. But after a few seconds, the clerk manages to get away from the 46-year-old. Hafeed stumbles into the street, nearly getting hit by a bus. The other man, meanwhile, stands and watches Hafeed for a second before walking slowly down the sidewalk, a knife still in hand.
The bloodied victim made it into a Dunkin Donuts, asking someone to call 911, according to Sanjoy Sarkar, the district manager for the donut chain.
An employee tried to rouse the man, who was losing consciousness.
"He's trying to let him wake up, like 'talk!'" said Sarkar. "Then when he was on the line with 911, they said, 'Don't hang up the phone, try to talk to him.' But he was just leaning down."
EMS responded and transported him to Harlem Hospital, where he died, according to police.
Hafeed was later questioned by police, and a knife was recovered at the scene, police said. It is unclear if the men each had knives, or if the one the 46-year-old was seen carrying was the one that killed him.
