What you should know
- A Manhattan man has been arrested in the execution-style murder at a cigar store that occurred on Sunday. In the incident, he killed a 36-year-old man.
- The suspect was arrested Tuesday morning and authorities say he is the same man who allegedly killed a 19-year-old in East Harlem a day after the murder at the cigar store. Additionally, the alleged killer has been charged with attempted murder for attempting to kill NYPD officers in February 2021.
- The people of Harlem are fed up with cases of violence. As one woman lamented, “Why do they have to kill each other? We don’t need that. It’s time to make peace.
NEW YORK — A 21-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the grisly murder of a 36-year-old man at a Harlem tobacco shop, police said. It wouldn’t have been the only murder he allegedly committed over the weekend, the woman in uniform added.
New York police said on Tuesday that Messiah Nantwi, of Manhattan, was arrested for murder and felony possession of a firearm following the shooting that occurred on Sunday evening in front of nearly half a dozen terrified witnesses in a cigar store Avenue Lenox. Everything was captured by the company’s surveillance cameras. As the victim fell to the ground from the impact of the bullets, the suspect fired a second bullet into the victim’s head, police said. Then he flees.
Also on Tuesday, authorities said the same suspect had been charged with murder in another shooting incident Saturday afternoon in East Harlem. In this case, a 19-year-old boy was shot in the head near Madison Avenue there East 132nd Street. It happened in broad daylight, not even at 4 p.m., and the victim was pronounced dead at the hospital. His name has not been disclosed.
The name of the cigar store shooting victim has also not been released. It’s unclear what led to the 19-year-old’s murder on Saturday, but Sunday’s horror unfolded after an apparent argument between Nantwi and the victim, according to police and security video. Nantwi allegedly shot him in the head, then saw him move and fired again.
It was not immediately clear if Nantwi had a lawyer. More details on both cases are expected later Tuesday.
However, this is not the first time the suspect has been arrested. According to New York police, Nantwi is the same man who allegedly opened fire on uniformed officers during a police check. graffiti in February 2021. Nantwi was 18 at the time. According to the indictment, Nantwi fired three shots at two officers and a sergeant, who returned 31 shots, hitting him repeatedly.
The 18-year-old has been charged with attempted murder of police officers. None of the police officers were injured. Nantwi was hospitalized for treatment of several gunshot wounds at the time. The status of that case was unclear on Tuesday.
The suspect is shot and injured after an exchange of fire with police in the Bronx. Carolina Ardila makes us bigger.
The latest incident has residents fed up with the violence in their community.
“I don’t understand why they can’t just talk about things. Why do they have to kill each other?” moaned a woman. “We don’t need this. It’s time to make peace. Sometimes people need to come together.”