Duck Sauce Dispute Spurred Queens Delivery Worker Killing, DA Says

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — The aggrieved customer accused of gunning down a Forest Hills delivery worker mid-shift spent months stalking and harassing workers at a local restaurant before the slaying, prosecutors announced.

An indictment unsealed Thursday details a history of violent threats against workers at the Great Wall Chinese restaurant by Glenn Hirsch, 50, according to the District Attorney's office, which also charged Hirsch with second degree murder in the deadly shooting of delivery worker Zhiwen Yan, 45. Hirsch faces up to life in prison if convicted, according to the DA.

The Queens man, who was arrested by police Wednesday, stands accused of fatally shooting Yan — a longtime Great Wall employee and father-of-three — on April 30 while the two were stopped at a red light, prosecutors said.

Yan's tragic death, though, came after months of harassment following a dispute over duck sauce, according to prosecutors.

"As alleged, a petty dispute over a take-out order became an obsessive point of contention for the defendant who began to stalk and harass employees at the restaurant for months," said District Attorney Melinda Katz.

"The tragic end result was the murder of a hard-working employee, who left behind a devastated family and a grieving community."

In November, Hirsch ordered take-out from Great Wall and was given extra duck sauce packets as requested, but he still picked a fight with workers over the order, calling the police when he was denied a refund, according to the charges.

A months-long campaign of threats and harassment against workers at Great Wall followed, prosecutors said.

Between December and April, Hirsch allegedly threatened violence against workers, vandalized their vehicles and harassed them outside the restaurant, the DA said.

"Remember me? I will kill your entire family," Hirsch said to one worker in January while pointing a gun at him, according to the DA.

After Yan's slaying, Hirsch ran into his SUV and drove to his wife's apartment in Briarwood, prosecutors said.

While carrying out a court-authorized search warrant, police later found eight guns in the apartment in a closet with some of Hirsch's items.

"Gun violence is never the answer and will not be tolerated in Queens County," said Katz.

Hirsch's indictment and arrest comes over a month after Yan's shooting. In that time, neighbors in Forest Hills have been demanding justice.

"Me and my family [are] scared," said Yan's widow, speaking through an interpreter at a vigil last month honoring her late husband. "NYC... you owe an explanation to the Chinese community."

Yan was remembered by co-workers, family and neighbors as a caring community member and loving father. His funeral took place at the end of May, according to a news release.

Hirsch is expected to return to court on June 7, according to the DA.