A neighborhood bodega in Bedford Park was robbed at gunpoint overnight, with two masked suspects entering the store, threatening the cashier, and emptying the register before fleeing on foot. No injuries were reported.
The owner, a fixture of the block for more than two decades, said the haul was small but the trauma to his employee and the regulars who happened to be inside the store was real. He plans to keep the store closed for one day to let his staff regroup.
NYPD detectives have pulled video from the store and several surrounding businesses. Police are asking residents who were in the area between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. to come forward, and have offered the standard cash reward for tips that lead to an arrest.
Neighbors who gathered outside the store on Wednesday morning expressed a mix of fear and frustration. Several said the precinct's response time had been good but that the broader sense of street safety in the area had slipped over the past year.
