On Wednesday morning, December 6, 2023, at the Seafood King Fish Market in Washington Heights, New York City, a 37-year-old man, enjoying an early morning meal at the counter, became the victim of a brutal armed robbery that turned violent.
The incident, captured in graphic surveillance footage, shows a masked assailant, dressed entirely in black and wielding a distinctive blue-colored handgun, entering the establishment at Broadway and West 163rd Street just before 2 a.m.
Initially posing as a customer, the suspect ordered food, left the premises, and returned about 10 minutes later. After using the restroom, he pulled out his weapon.
The gunman first coerced the cashier into handing over her cell phone and the contents of the register, filling a black plastic bag with the loot. He then turned his attention to the lone diner at the counter, demanding his cell phone and money. Despite complying with the robber’s demands, the customer, hunched over his meal, became the target of an inexplicable act of violence. The assailant shot him in the upper cheek at close range before fleeing the scene.
The victim was rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in critical but stable condition.
The New York Police Department (NYPD), led by Lieutenant John Russo of the Commander Investigative Coordinator Detective Bureau, has released footage of the incident in hopes of apprehending the suspect, described as around 5-foot-5 with a medium complexion, last seen wearing a black hat and mask.
The NYPD is processing a recovered 9-millimeter shell casing for forensic evidence and asserts that this incident does not fit the pattern of other recent robberies in the area.
