KINGSBRIDGE — A McDonald's manager was fatally stabbed by a homeless regular he was escorting from the restaurant early Monday morning, police said.
Adam Garcia, 28, was walking out the homeless man, who'd spent the past eight hours at in the fast food restaurant at 5765 Broadway, near West 236th Street, about 4:27 a.m., when the two started arguing in the parking lot, NYPD officials said.
The homeless man, who frequently spent time at the McDonald's, fatally stabbed Garcia, father to a 5-year-old boy, in the neck and chest, police said.
Garcia was fatally stabbed outside the McDonald's where he worked. (DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp)
The suspect, who is in his 30s, fled the scene and was not immediately arrested, police said.
Garcia, of Riverdale, walked back into the McDonald's where EMS picked him up and brought him to New York Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, NYPD officials said.
Garcia lived with his parents, who were devastated by his murder.
"He was an amazing young man," said Garcia's cousin, Karen, who wouldn't give her last name.
"He was all about family, his mother, his father, his cousin. He was an honest, earning man. He was very loving. It's such a loss for the family," she said.
Garcia, who enjoyed listening to rock and metal music, worked as a night manager at the fast food eatery and hoped to one day work for the United States Postal Service, the cousin said.
"He tried his very best in everything. He worked his way up. He started from the bottom," Karen said.
Former colleagues agreed.
"He was patient. He joked around," said Diomedes Marcelino, 28, who had worked with Garcia at the McDonald's.
"He like it [at the McDonald's]. He just wanted to settle down, meet someone and provide for his son," Marcelino said.
Friends hope police find the suspect soon.
"They said they have witnesses and cameras inside the store. Hopefully there will be some closure, but it's not going to be enough, losing somebody like that," said Nat Aponte, 46, a friend of Garcia's.
"We expected a good new year for everyone. This was never expected," Aponte said.
