A Bronx smoke shop worker who fatally shot a man allegedly robbing his store Wednesday has been arrested and charged with weapons possession, according to police.
The NYPD said 26-year-old Fares Alhazmi fired at 23-year-old Romel Carey, who was attempting to rob the smoke shop on East Tremont Avenue around 12:30 a.m.
Police said Carey was shot in the head and died at the scene. Alhazmi was arrested immediately after the incident as a person of interest, but was formally charged Thursday morning with criminal possession of a firearm.
It’s unclear what Carey, who has an address in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was doing in the Bronx.
Alhazmi is awaiting arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court. Information for his attorney was not yet available.
His story is similar to that of Jose Alba, a 51-year-old Harlem bodega worker who was accused of fatally stabbing 37-year-old Austin Simon, a customer, after a dispute about store merchandise turned physical.
Alba was initially charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in Simon’s death, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg later dropped the murder charge after evidence emerged that Alba was acting in self-defense.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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