A man dining outside an upscale Chinese restaurant in Manhattan on Wednesday night was shot in the leg as he tried to fight off a pair of armed robbers, police and witnesses said.
The chaotic scene outside Philippe Chow on East 60th Street near Madison Avenue unfolded when two male suspects approached the eatery and first robbed a 31-year-old diner of his Rolex watch at about 10 p.m., police said.
The duo, at least one of them wielding a gun, then targeted a 28-year-old man sitting nearby, who was shot in the leg as he struggled with the suspects, according to cops.
The gunshot victim was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center and is expected to survive, police and sources said.
A hostess at the restaurant witnessed part of the mayhem and said the robbery victim was shot when he resisted the suspects’ demands.
“The guy said he wasn’t going to give him his watch,” the woman said. “They shot him once.”
“It was public in front of everybody. And when he said no, they just pulled out the gun. It’s absolutely terrifying,” she said.
The crooks fled in a light blue Mercedes. No arrests were immediately made.
In October 2018, a bodyguard for rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was shot in the stomach outside the same restaurant during a fight.
Additional reporting by Kenneth Garger
