NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — An East Harlem deli worker is recovering after being stabbed in the neck by a man trying to purchase cigarettes on credit Wednesday morning, police and witnesses told 1010 WINS.
The stabbing happened at about 10:40 a.m. at the Food Mart at 116th Street and Third Avenue.
Another deli worker said that the assailant came in and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, asking for cigarettes he didn’t have money for.
“He wanted cigarettes, credit, you know, he doesn’t have money,” the worker said. “He wanted credit.”
After the 24-year-old victim refused to give the cigarettes to the suspect, surveillance footage shows the man lunge at him with a screwdriver, stabbing him in the neck. There have been no arrests.
The victim was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem and is in stable condition.
Fernando Mateo’s United Bodegas of America is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. He said that the stabbing victim was strong, even chasing after the suspect, wanting to catch him.
“Fortunately for this guy, that bodega clerk was not armed because if he was armed, he could have shot him,” Mateo said.
The investigation is ongoing.