Man shot trying to stop crooks from robbing Manhattan smoke shop of cash, CBD oils: ‘Bullet went through his leg’
When a crew of crooks robbed an Upper West Side smoke shop of cash and CBD oils early Monday, a friend of the owner intervened — and wound up shot in the foot, police said.
The 29-year-old victim was inside Lincoln Convenience on Broadway near W. 72nd St. when the gunman and three accomplices entered and announced a robbery about 4:20 a.m., police said.
The victim, a friend of the shop’s owner, put up a fight and was shot in the foot. Medics rushed him to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition, and he later in the day returned to his home in Brooklyn.
His brother said the victim manages a nearby McDonald’s and stopped by the smoke shop to check on the owner.
“He’s all right,” the brother said. “My brother really can’t move right now. The bullet went through his leg.”
The shooter and his accomplices ran off with cash and CBD oils. They have not been caught.
Last Friday, the same smoke shop was robbed at 6:30 a.m. by three men, one with a gun. They took one worker’s wallet and stuffed money and numerous store items into black trash bags. It was not clear if any of those men were involved in Monday’s shooting.
CBD, the active ingredient in cannabis, has become a popular target among crooks in recent months
Last Wednesday, a worker at a First Ave. tobacco shop in the East Village was held up at gunpoint. The three crooks stole $3,000 from the register and $2,400 worth of CBD.
On July 18, a gunman stole $250 and CBD products from a smoke shop on Seneca Ave. in Ridgewood, Queens.
And on May 16, a robber at a Pennsylvania Ave. smoke shop in East New York stole $1,800 worth of such products after pepper-spraying a worker in her face.
