Police have identified the suspect who allegedly stabbed to death a man who held a door open for him at a NYC smoke shop, then confronted him for not saying "thank you."
The simple act of kindness became one of the last things that 37-year-old Joan Nunez ever did. Video showed the fight inside a Gowanus smoke shop on Sept. 21 between Nunez and another man, identified by police as Edwin Pedroza. A witness said Nunez made a comment about not getting thanked by the man for whom he held the door open — to which the other man said that he never asked Nunez to open it.
Video footage of the wild brawl shows Nunez, wearing white, and Pedroza allegedly exchange blows in the store before the fighting continued outside.
"I was trying to break up the fight. I said, 'put the knife away — it’s not worth it,'" said a store worker who did not wish to be identified. "Once they stepped outside, there was nothing I could do."
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The worker said that Nunez's last words were about him getting stabbed, before he collapsed while covered in blood and stumbling back to the store. Pedroza could be seen on video leaving the scene on a bike.
Overcome with emotion, Lucia Canella said she couldn't believe she lost her son in a deadly dispute that came as a result of bad manners.
“You can at least say thank you, that’s all he asked. But he got in a fight, and he lost — I lost my only son," Canella said.
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Police said Tuesday night that they were looking for the 42-year-old Pedroza. Anyone with information in regard to his whereabouts is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
