Manhattan smoke shop worker shot in robbery, trio sought: NYPD

LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) — A Lower East Side smoke shop worker was shot during a robbery of his store late Sunday, according to authorities.

The 35-year-old victim was working in the shop on Orchard Street near East Houston Street around 10:30 p.m. Sunday when three robbers walked in and stole thousands of dollars in merchandise, police said.

The robbers forced two employees and a customer to the back of the store before ransacking the shop, police sources said.

When one of the workers followed the crooks outside with a bolt cutter, one of them shot the worker in the torso and arm, officials said. The thieves then fled in a black sedan, authorities said.

First responders brought the victim to an area hospital. He was listed in what police described as stable condition and is expected to survive, authorities said.

The shooting was just one of several over the weekend across New York City, according to the NYPD. On Sunday, three men were shot — one fatally — in a Brooklyn incident, and a 17-year-old boy was killed by a group of masked assailants in the Bronx, officials said.

Three people were shot in three separate incidents on Friday, police said. Eight people were injured across seven shootings on Saturday, according to the department.