By Tuan Nguyen and Tom Liddy
DNAinfo
HARLEM — Stunning surveillance footage shows the violent confrontation that led to the death of East Harlem football star Isayah Muller just hours after his graduation last month.
In the chaotic video from June 28, obtained by FOX 5, a man, reportedly the victim's father, Andre, can be seen punching an attendant at a Bronx parking garage and later attacking the workers with a snow shovel before an all-out brawl broke out.
The confrontation erupted over a bottle of expensive cologne that Andre Muller had suspected the attendants of stealing.
In the footage, the dad can be seen standing at the entrance to the booth at M.T. Jerome Town Corp. on Jerome Avenue, nearby the site of the graduation at Lehman College, talking with the employees.
At one point, the workers let him inspect a backpack and peruse the drawers in the office.
But when one of the employees got on the phone and reportedly called 911, things turned violent.
Moments after his wife, Rosa Seda, walked away, Andre Muller can be seen walking into the booth and punching one of the attendants, knocking him off balance, although there appears to be a break in the video just beforehand.
Neither attendant seems to fight back and when one tries to shut the door, another man, reportedly Isayah Muller, 19, of the Jefferson Houses, can be seen pushing it back open.
The footage then shows Andre Muller charging into the office and attacking the employees with a snow shovel. One attendant picked up a chair to fight back and the other grabbed what appeared to be a machete, according to the report.
Andre leaves the booth and shuts the door behind him, but moments later Isayah, followed by his father, burst through the door and begin attacking one of the attendants, according to the tape.
While Isayah continues to fight with the worker, Andre begins grappling with the machete-wielding man, picking up the shovel again.
During the fracas, the other attendant stabbed his son in the chest with a homemade knife, the report said. Muller and his son can then be seen fleeing the booth.
Isayah Muller, a standout running back who helped lead Truman HS, in The Bronx, to its first PSAL Bowl title last year, died a short time later.
Andre Muller, the alleged aggressor in the confrontation, was hit with a slew of charges, including assault.
But the attendants were not immediately charged, sparking outrage. It is not clear if they will be charged.
Andre Muller's lawyer, Lawrence Fredella, told DNAinfo that the video, which does not have audio, portrayed only part of the story.
He said that the attendants stalled in getting the police to the garage and one threatened in Spanish to "cut these guys up," scaring Andre Muller because he had been stabbed before.
"Andre's attack was a visceral reaction to the threat of being killed," Fredella said. Isayah jumped into the fray because he saw a cut on his father's arm and wanted to protect his dad.
"That's when you see him rush back in and hit [one of the attendants]," he said. "What you can't see is [the worker] piercing Isayah's heart with a knife."
The attendants could not immediately be reached for comment.
