NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A man stealing candy and chips shot and wounded a bodega worker on the Lower East Side early Thursday morning, police said.
The 25-year-old victim, who’d only been on the job for about a month, was working at Wholesome Organic Convenience on Rivington Street around 1:30 a.m. when a man grabbed candy and chips and refused to pay for it.
When confronted by the worker, the man pulled out a gun and fired one shot, police said.
The worker was grazed in the lower back by a bullet. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated and released.
Police were going business to business Thursday to review surveillance video as they search for the gunman.
The United Bodegas of America is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the shooting.
"This young man was shot in the back simply because he tried to stop a crime,” said UBA spokesman Fernando Mateo. “Bodega workers should not have to risk their lives every time they report to work.”
