New York City police are searching for an armed suspect accused of fatally shooting a customer during a robbery at a Bronx deli, as investigators examine whether the same man was involved in another deadly shooting in Brooklyn just days earlier.
The Bronx attack occurred shortly after 12:15 a.m. Tuesday at 149 Grill and Deli on East 149th Street in the Melrose section of the borough. Surveillance footage captured the gunman entering the store and opening fire, according to police.
A 33-year-old customer was shot in the chest during the incident. Emergency crews transported him to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, where he later died from his injuries. The case is now being investigated as a homicide.
After the shooting, police said the gunman moved behind the counter, threatened employees with the weapon and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. He then fled eastbound along East 149th Street.
The NYPD has identified the suspect as 31-year-old Jesus Acosta. Authorities are also seeking Acosta in connection with a separate fatal shooting that occurred early Sunday at a restaurant on Rockaway Avenue in Brooklyn.
In the Brooklyn case, officers responding to the scene found a 44-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head and a 39-year-old man who had been shot in the leg. The 44-year-old victim died, while the second victim survived.
The possibility that the same suspect carried out two deadly shootings in separate boroughs within a matter of days has intensified the police manhunt. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage and other evidence as they work to establish the circumstances surrounding both attacks.
Police have released images of the suspect and are asking anyone with information about his whereabouts or the shootings to contact authorities. As of the latest reports, the suspect remained wanted and the investigations were continuing.
