Latest news with #FoodtoPlez
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
New suspect surrenders in stray bullet shooting slay of Harlem grandmother
A gunman wanted for mistakenly killing a beloved Harlem grandmother with a stray bullet surrendered to cops Monday morning, a police official said. Ricky Shelby showed up with a lawyer at the Manhattan District Attorney's office and was then taken to the 28th Precinct stationhouse, near where the shooting happened, to be processed, police sources said. Shelby, 23, is expected to be charged with murder and attempted murder for allegedly opening fire last Tuesday night on Lenox Ave. near W. 113th St. Police say he shot and wounded his intended target, Darious Smith, 23, but a stray slug hit 61-year-old Excenia Mette in the head, killing her. The accused killer opened fire after Smith shot at him but hit nobody, according to cops. Smith, struck in the foot when the killer returned fire, took off on an electric scooter. Cops chased him down and nabbed him a few blocks away. He is charged with attempted murder. Mette had stepped out of a hair salon to check on her grandson after hearing a commotion outside. The grandson was not involved in the clash. Mette was a longtime member of the National Action Network and former owner of Momma Zee's Food to Plez on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd,, which she said was the first woman and Black-owned bodega in New York City since 1987.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
Wounded gunman charged with attempted murder in stray bullet shooting of Harlem grandmother
A young shooter wounded in a gunfight that killed an innocent Harlem community leader stepping out of her building to check on her grandson has been charged with attempted murder, cops said Thursday. Darious Smith, 23, is also facing gun possession charges for the Tuesday night shooting outside Tamara's Beauty Bar, a salon on Lenox Ave. near W. 113th St. Smith was arguing with a man about 10:20 p.m. when he allegedly whipped out a gun and opened fire at his rival but hit no one. His rival pulled out a gun and fired back, hitting Smith in the foot and striking Excenia Mette, 61, in the head with a stray bullet, cops said. Mette, a longtime member of the National Action Network and former owner of Momma Zee's Food to Plez on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd,, which she said was the first woman and Black-owned bodega in New York City since 1987, was checking on her grandson when she was caught in the crossfire. 'She was intending to see where her grandson was as the rounds started to let go on the street,' NYPD Capt. James Whitlock, commanding officer of the 28th Precinct, said Wednesday at the scene of the shooting. Mette died after being rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside, cops said. The wounded Smith hobbled off but was arrested about a block away. His arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Thursday. Smith was already about to go to trial on robbery and assault charges for allegedly stabbing two people during an e-bike battery theft. About 10:25 p.m. last June 12, Smith allegedly stole the battery from someone he cut in the lower back with a box cutter just four blocks up Lenox Ave. from Tuesday's gunfight. He also sliced a witness in the thumb, according to prosecutors. He was arrested that day and later released on $10,000 bail.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
Vigil held for Harlem community leader killed by stray bullet; hailed as ‘pillar of the community'
An emotional vigil that drew family, friends and community activists was held Wednesday for a beloved Harlem grandmother, businesswoman and community leader killed by a stray bullet in the crossfire of a shooting. The vigil took place near the home of Excenia Mette, 61, who was gunned down Tuesday night trying to make sure her grandson was safe amid a senseless brawl. According to cops, Mette, while inside Tamara's Beauty Bar, a salon on Lenox Ave. near W. 113th St., heard a loud argument between two groups about 10:20 p.m. Tuesday. The salon is on the first floor of the apartment building where Mette lived. Knowing her grandson was outside, Mette called out to the group as the commotion grew, demanding the quarrel stop and for her grandchild to leave, sources said. Her grandson, who was not involved in the fight, warned her to stay in the salon. 'Not only did she run out for her grandson, she probably ran out for the very bullet from the person that shot her,' Mette's sister, Diane London — a pastor in Allentown, Pa., who lives in Harlem — said at the vigil, calling her sister an 'anchor' for the community who would 'run into a fire' to help others. 'She ran out for you too, because she cared enough about that, no matter how many times we begged her not to come out here, when you got in trouble, she came anyway. We could not stop her for helping you. And I want to tell you today that the power of God is going to rectify this situation,' London said. Mette's grandson, Jarian Jordan Jr., 24, also spoke at the vigil, recounting that 'I heard the shots go off downstairs and then I came downstairs.' 'The last thing I remember, she was downstairs,' he said, still shaken by the violence. 'She was actually making dinner, and she was organizing the front of the store. She periodically checked on the store.' According to cops, the two gunmen wrestled with each other, with one of the men pulling a gun and opening fire. The other man then drew his own weapon and fired back — just as Mette stepped outside, cops said. Mette was struck in the head by the stray bullet. Medics rushed her to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital, but she could not be saved. The first shooter, identified by sources as 23-year-old Darious Smith, was blasted in the left foot by his rival and was transported to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in stable condition, cops said. The other gunman, who ran off and has not been caught, fired the bullet that killed Mette, according to a police source. Jordan Jr. referred to his grandmother, who went by the name of 'Zeenie,' as a 'pillar of the community' who served as a longtime member of the National Action Network, headed by the Rev. Al Sharpton. She owned and operated Momma Zee's Food to Plez on Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., which Jordan Jr. noted made her the first Black woman to own and run a bodega in New York City since 1987. The bodega closed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 'I don't even have the words. My mother was an advocate for the community. She wouldn't leave,' said her 40-year-old son Jarian Jordan Sr. 'I tried to extract her from the community, but she loved it. She gave everything to this community and in the end she gave all.'
