Gunman in East Harlem Burger King Killing Was Ex-Employee: NYPD

EAST HARLEM, NY — Police on Friday named the man accused of killing of 19-year-old Kristal Bayron-Nieves at an East Harlem Burger King this week, saying close analysis of surveillance footage had helped lead to an arrest.

Winston Glynn, 30, was taken into custody in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn on Thursday: four days after Bayron-Nieves was shot by a would-be robber as she worked a cashier shift at the East 116th Street fast-food restaurant.

Police said Glynn was the man seen in surveillance footage wearing a black ski mask and all-black clothing as he held up the Burger King early Sunday. Crucially, the footage also showed a pair of white earbuds hanging out of his pocket — a clue that police later matched up with footage showing Glynn walking down the street before the shooting, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said at a news conference Friday afternoon.

"While this does not bring Kristal back, it may bring a measure of comfort to a family that is preparing to bury their child," NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said.

Police say Glynn worked at the same Burger King between April and December 2020. Before this week, he had four prior arrests for offenses including menacing and assault.

Police allege that Glynn entered the Burger King around 12:45 a.m. Sunday and pistol-whipped a customer and a manager — knocking two teeth from the manager's mouth.

From there, he took $100 from the cash register. After he demanded more money, Bayron-Nieves fumbled to open the register drawer but was unable, since she did not have a key, Essig said. Glynn then fired one shot, killing her, before leaving the store, according to police.

"She was trying to comply with the gunman’s demands," Corey said. "She was killed for no apparent reason."

Authorities later used surveillance footage to track Glynn walking to the 116th Street-Lexington Avenue subway station. They eventually uncovered more footage showing a man before the shooting wearing different clothes — "but with the same gait, height and earbuds hanging out of his pants" — whom they identified as Glynn, according to Essig.

Glynn has been charged with first-degree murder, robbery, criminal use of a firearm and criminal weapons possession.

Bayron-Nieves's death triggered an outpouring of grief, as well as outrage over a life cut short. A GoFundMe seeking to cover her funeral costs had raised more than double its goal of $10,000 as of Friday morning.

In a rally outside the Burger King on Thursday, neighborhood leaders called for an end to gun violence in the neighborhood. Mayor Eric Adams was in attendance at Friday's news conference announcing Glynn's arrest, describing a visit he made to Bayron-Nieves's mother, where he "saw the pain on her face."

"We are not going to have our city return to violence," he said.

Related coverage:

• $10K Reward Offered In East Harlem Shooting Of Kristal Nieves
• Harlem Burger King Shooting: GoFundMe Opens For Cashier's Funeral
• Teen Cashier Killed In East Harlem Burger King Robbery: Police