Clerk slain in Brooklyn deli

A BROOKLYN deli clerk was found dead Friday in the bathroom of the store where he had worked for only three weeks, the apparent victim of a robbery.

A vendor showed up at 797 Deli Grocery on Stanley Ave. in East New York about 5 a.m. and was puzzled to find nobody inside, co-workers of 55-year-old victim Hisham Zidan said.

She alerted a neighboring shopkeeper, who went inside and saw the cash register on the floor with change scattered around. The shopkeeper then found Zidan deadin the bathroom with a gruesome cut and bruising on his forehead.

Zidan, who previously worked in the deli owner’s other stores, was pulling an overnight shift alone when he was appar- ently attacked. The city medical examiner will conduct an autopsy Saturday to determine how he died, authorities said.

Co-workers say the robber got into the store through the back door and made off with cash and the store’s security system. Nearby cameras show the lowlife leaving the deli, meeting three men and jumping into a getaway car about 3:20 a.m., the co-workers said.

Zidan worked long hours to support his wife and five kids in his native Jordan.

“His wife called because she hadn't heard from him,” said co-worker Akram Mohamed, 18. “He called her every morning. He’s a nice guy. I’ve know him since I was a kid. I’m lost.”

Zidan dreamed of reuniting with his family. “He told me yesterday that he was applying for citizenship,” Mohamed added. “He wanted to bring his family over.”