NYPD Holding 1st Safety Summit For Bodega Owners In The Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The NYPD is holding its first safety summit for bodega owners Thursday in the Bronx.
More than 50 owners are expected to attend the event.
The summit comes in response to Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz's brutal killing back in June.
The 15-year-old was dragged out of a bodega and stabbed to death by several alleged members of the Trinitarios gang in what police called a case of mistaken identity.
"We look forward to listening and learning from the NYPD on how to keep ourselves & our patrons safe," Radames Rodriguez, president of the United Bodegas of America, said in a statement.
Some residents said the bodega owner did not do enough to protect Guzman-Feliz, but he defended himself, saying he called 911 twice and did all he could.
"If I had done more, I would have been exposed and there would have been a memorial candle for me and my partner," he said in Spanish after the attack.
Thursday's summit is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Metropolitan College on East 149th Street.
