Man clings to life after beat in store
A man who provoked a brutal beatdown in a Bronx liquor store a week ago by mouthing off to two men was clinging to life in a hospital Sunday, cops and witnesses said.
The two attackers unleashed a flurry of punches inside 892 E. Tremont Liquors on E. Tremont Ave. near Honeywell Ave. in Crotona around 11:45 a.m. June 14 after the 54-year-old victim “antagonized” them, sources said.
“The guy came in here with two guys following him,” said a liquor store employee, adding that the victim is known as Pinto, is from Honduras and has been coming to the store for a long time.
“The next thing I knew, in the corner he got beat up really bad. I couldn’t see if they had a weapon or something like that.”
“It was hard for me to go over there,” added the employee, who works behind a plexiglass wall. “I just said ‘Please, please, please,’ but they wouldn’t hear that.”
A man who knew the victim but wanted to stay anonymous said he often went into the store looking for a fight, getting more aggressive as he drank.
“He doesn’t know how to drink is the thing . ... You’re supposed to have a good time, but he’s always yelling at people,” he said. “I don’t want to say he deserved it, but that day he was looking for it,” said the man.
The victim was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital with fractures to his face, injuries to his teeth and right eye, and a bruised chest. He is intubated and in critical condition, sources said.
“It was really really bad, he couldn’t walk,” said the worker who witnessed the attack. “The guy said something to them, but I don’t know what it was all about. It started outside.”
Cops released surveillance photos of the suspects and asked the public’s help tracking them down.