Witnesses: NYPD Killed Unarmed Bodega Worker

An NYPD officer allegedly shot and killed an unarmed bodega worker in the Bronx this morning, mistaking him for a robber. Police will confirm only that a 20-year-old Hispanic man was killed, but witnesses tell the New York Daily News and NBC 4 that they called police when they saw masked gunmen robbing the bodega. When police arrived, the gunmen ran out the back, while the store's owner and his nephew, Reynaldo Cuevas, ran out the front.

The owner had his hands up, but Cuevas didn't. "And he tripped or something and when he fell on the floor, they shot him," says witness Jose Garcia. Garcia, who is also Cuevas' cousin, says police never ordered him to freeze or put his hands up. "They didn't say nothing. They just shot him," and then "dragged him away from the store. There was blood everywhere." A police source confirms Cuevas was shot by an officer. (More bodega stories.)