by Tina Kelley, The New York Times
Two people were killed last night during a domestic dispute at a pawn shop in East Harlem, and the police killed a suspect after he pointed his gun at them, the authorities said.
The police were called to E-Z Pawn, at 1878 Lexington Avenue at 116th Street, just before 6 p.m. about what seemed to be a dispute, in which shots had been fired. When the police arrived, they saw two men who they believed worked in the shop trying to prevent a man armed with a revolver from coming in. During the struggle, the gunman shot one of the men, said William H. Allee, Jr., the chief of detectives. The other man ran out into the street.
The gunman’s estranged girlfriend, who worked at the shop, had received a call from him earlier in the day, during which they argued, and he threatened to come over, the police said. The woman had a child by the gunman, the police said. After the gunman shot the man outside, he went inside and followed the woman to a small, cramped area in the back of the building, where he attacked her, Chief Allee said.
“There is a spear gun laying next to the body,” another police official said about the woman. “It appears that after he ran out of bullets, he stabbed her with the spear gun in the head.” An autopsy is to be performed to determine the cause of her death.
During the argument, three other employees of the store took refuge in the basement and later reported hearing four or five shots.
When members of the Emergency Service Unit went toward the back of the store, the gunman pointed his weapon at them, and the officers shot him, Chief Allee said. Two officers fired a total of six shots, a law enforcement official said.
The police did not release the names or ages of any of the victims last night. They said the gunman and the dead woman appeared to be in their late 20’s. One police official said it was the store manager and his brother who tried to keep the gunman out, and the manager was killed. He died en route to a local hospital.
One of the first officers to arrive, who would not give his name, said he had seen an employee running from the store, pointing and yelling that a man inside had a gun. “He was pretty shook up,” the officer said.
The shop, which has a flashing red and green sign advertising “Bargains on Ca$h Loans,” occupies the bottom floor of a four-story brick apartment building.
One neighbor who lives on Lexington Avenue said the store window was broken last week. The manager chased the vandal, but he was shot at, the neighbor said. “I didn’t see the guy, and nobody knows who really did it,” said the man, who would not give his name.