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Thursday, April 3, 2025

New York deli employee fatally shot by armed robber

Members of the Food Trade Association are holding a press conference in front of Daona Delhi in Manhattan, where Korean Choi Sung-ho was killed. [FACEBOOK}
A Korean employee was killed in a shooting in a Korean-owned deli on an upper east side of Manhattan.

According to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), a man broke into Daona Gourmet Deli on East 81st Street at 11:28 p.m. on the 3rd and shot a 67-year-old male employee before fleeing the scene.

The victim was confirmed to be a South Korean named Seungchul Choi (English name Michael, 67) living in Woodside, Queens. Choi is believed to be a U.S. citizen born in Korea.

According to police officials, at the time of the incident, the suspect entered the store, asked a customer in the shop to lie down on the ground to take their money, and then hit Choi on the head with a pistol handle.

Fortunately, the customer was able to escape the scene, but gunshots were fired right after, and when the police arrived at the scene, Choi was dead with a bullet wound to his left hand and head, and the suspect had already fled.

Police said the same man also robbed the Bronx’s YAYA Deli at 11:45 p.m. The owner said he robbed $1,000, lighters and batteries that were behind the counter before he fled. Police described the suspect as 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds.

According to the released CCTV footage, the suspect was wearing a black top and bottom, a black mask, and a white hazmat suit.

As of the 6th, police are still tracking down the suspect and receiving a report through an open search. NYPD Eyewitness Call (800-577-8477).

Park Kwang-min, chairman of the New York Korean Food Association, said, “It is very unfortunate that such an accident occurred in a South Korean-owned deli. The number of robberies and thefts targeting delis has increased after the pandemic.”

The Korea Daily
The Korea Daily
The Korea Daily (미주중앙일보) is the largest Korean media outlet in the U.S