Harrowing footage shows the moment trailblazing NYC bodega-owning grandma was shot dead in crossfire

Yahoo

24-04-2025

Heart-pounding footage shows the moment a beloved former Harlem bodega owner was fatally caught in a hail of bullets Tuesday night after she heard gunshots and rushed outside to check on her grandson.
Excenia Mette, 61, was shot in the head by a bullet intended for someone else and was later pronounced dead at an area hospital, according to police and law enforcement sources.
Surveillance footage from a nearby business shows Mette stepping outside Tamara's Beauty Bar — a salon on the first floor of her apartment building — around 10:30 p.m., looking around and then trying to retreat back inside as more gunfire erupted — but failing to make it in time.
Instead, the cherished community member crumpled to the ground in the heartbreaking video obtained by The Post.
The shooting that claimed the life of the innocent bystander and wounded another victim started when an argument between two men escalated into a gun battle.
One suspect pulled a gun first, leading to a brief struggle, sources said. The second suspect then brandished his own gun and opened fire — with one of his shots hitting Mette, according to sources.
The 47-second clip shows other bystanders scurrying to safety behind parked cars after the sound of two gunshots initially went off, while Mette poked her head outside the salon at West 113th Street and Lenox Avenue.
She then walked a few steps further outside and appeared to shout something before another series of gunshots went off, the video shows.
The grandmother was struck and fell onto the sidewalk in front of the salon's door as she attempted to run back inside to safety.
Another man then emerged on the security video and took a tumble before quickly getting to his feet and ducking for cover, the harrowing video shows.
Mette, who was affectionately known as 'Zeenie,' was left lying on the ground for several seconds before anyone rushed to check on her, according to the clip.
At least eight shell casings were recovered at the scene during the police probe.
Loved ones told The Post it was within Mette's character to rush outside to make sure her grandson was safe, even if it led to her tragic death.
Nearly 24 hours after the fatal shooting, a makeshift memorial was set up with flowers and prayer candles that spelled out the letter Z and a heart shape outside the beauty salon.
A large piece of cardboard was hung on the front of the salon, which was closed on Wednesday, with several heartfelt, hand-written messages praising and remembering Mette.
'We love your soul, Momma Zee,' one message read. 'Fly high, my love.'
'You taught me how to be a gentleman, without a Pops,' another read.
'I miss you so much already,' a third tragically said.
Mette became a pillar in her Harlem community as the former owner of Momma Zee's Food to Plez Deli, which she ran for around four decades.
She opened up her trailblazing business in the 1980s, making it the first woman- and black-owned bodega in the Big Apple.
The deli closed after it couldn't survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
One suspect allegedly involved in the gun fight, Darious Smith, 23, was taken into custody by authorities. He suffered a gunshot wound to the foot.
The second gunman, who is responsible for killing Mette, remains on the lam Wednesday night.