NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A group that advocates for bodega workers said it was offering a $2,000 reward in the search for the shoplifter who brutally stabbed a BP gas station worker in the head in the Bronx last weekend.
In a statement late Monday, the United Bodegas of America noted the attack came less than two weeks ago that a 29-year-old mother, Gwendolyn Guyton, was stabbed to death at a bodega in Mott Haven on Oct. 3.
“The violence that has taken place in our bodegas is heartbreaking,” UBA president Radames Rodriguez said. “We mourn the loss of Ms. Guyton, and now another innocent person is fighting for his life.”
The 25-year-old worker was attempting to stop a shoplifter at the BP convenience store at 91 Westchester Sq. around 1 a.m. Sunday, when he was repeatedly stabbed by the thief, police said.
The attacker knifed the worker in the head, neck and arm before fleeing the scene, according to police.
The victim was transported by EMS to NYC Health + Hospitals, where he was in critical but stable condition.
“Bodegas are under siege, and our communities are suffering,” Fernando Mateo, a spokesperson for UBA, said Monday, adding the recent stabbings are “part of a larger crisis” in the city.
“We are offering $2,000 to anyone who can give us information that can produce an arrest and a conviction,” Mateo said at a news conference Monday.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.