Bodega Worker Killed In Front Of Inwood Store, Police Say

INWOOD, NY — A New Rochelle man was stabbed to death Wednesday night in front of the Inwood bodega owned by his family, according to police and reports.

Officers responded to 201 Dyckman Street, a bodega near Vermilyea Avenue, around 8 p.m. after receiving reports of a man stabbed at the location. When cops arrived on the scene they found 28-year-old Mohamed Awawda unconscious and unresponsive suffering a stab wound to the chest, police said.

EMS rushed Awawda to NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Awawda, a newly-married father who recently moved from Florida to help at his family's store, was allegedly stabbed after confronting a group of men loitering in front of his store, police sources told the Daily News.

"It’s his family store," relative Amir Hamidah told the Daily News. "He’s a very nice guy. You can tell by the way he looks, he wouldn’t harm anybody. I can’t believe it."

Awawda's death is the second homicide recorded in the NYPD's 34th Precinct this year, according to precinct crime statistics as of June 9. There was only one murder in the precinct in all of 2018. The 34th Precinct spans all points north of West 179th Street in Manhattan.

Local City Coucilmember Ydanis Rodriguez called on the NYPD Thursday to allocate more resources for patrols in the neighborhood. Rodriguez said that drug activity is still active in parts of the neighborhood such as Vermilyea Avenue.

"Crack and the drug epidemic was producing in the 90s more than 110 homicides every year, and we are not going back to those times," Rodriguez said. "We need to be sure that the community continues being safe for people living here for decades."

The lawmaker said his staff is working on legislation that would install a panic button in city bodegas and delis that employees could trigger to spark a quick response from police when they feel threatened. Rodriguez did not discuss specific details regarding Awawda's death during his Thursday press conference and said that he is waiting until the NYPD finishes its investigation.

Francisco Marte of the Bodega Association said Thursday that the group will be working with the Yemeni American Merchants Association and police to offer a reward that leads to the arrest of Awawda's killer.

"The Yemeni American Merchants Association sends its prayers and blessings to the family after this tragedy. We stand in solidarity and support with the family of the victim. We are committed to ending this kind of violence in our bodegas and merchants across New York City," the group said in a statement.

The NYPD investigation of Awawda's death is ongoing and police have not identified a suspect.