UPDATE: Avocado Attacker Under Arrest, Police Say
THE BRONX — A pair of angry customers armed with avocados broke a bodega clerk's jaw in a busy deli near Yankee Stadium, NYPD officials said.
The suspects can be seen calmly gathering armfuls of avocados before winding up and throwing them at the clerk behind the counter inside Stadium Gourmet Deli, 109 E. 161st St., according to police video released Tuesday.
The men were angry over a food order and started hurling the produce at the 21-year-old man behind the counter about 4:44 a.m. on May 29, police said.
"This was a dispute over the food order and you see what happened. This fellow was injured pretty badly," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce.
In the video, one of the suspects begins by grabbing the avocados and throwing them like a baseball pitcher at the clerk who appeared to be less than 10 feet from him, hitting him square in the head.
The clerk immediately clutched his head an fell to the floor as other customers looked on, video shows.
A second suspect entered the fray and also threw produce as both men trashed the store before leaving, video shows.
The bodega clerk's jaw was broken in the attack along with other bones in his face, police said. He also suffered cuts to his face, police said.
The victim was treated at Lincoln Hospital where he was listed in stable condition, police said.
The suspects fled the scene in a dark sedan and hadn't been arrested as of Wednesday morning, police said.
The suspects are described as being in their late 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches and 180 pounds, police said.
Investigators said they were questioning a person of interest who lives near the deli Wednesday afternoon.
"We're going to solve this crime," Boyce added.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).
