Freakish death in fight between childhood friends in Brooklyn; ‘I’m broken,’ mom says

A fight between two childhood friends in Brooklyn resulted in tragedy Wednesday when a young woman died of a severed artery in a freakish turn of events, the victim’s family and witnesses said.

As a three-week-old argument came to a head, an 18-year-old woman and a friend got into a fight in Two Girls Uncle & Cousins Deli & Grocery on Seaview Ave. near Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie around 11:40 a.m., sources and witnesses said.

In surveillance footage obtained by the Daily News, the young women could be seen arguing as a crowd formed in the deli.

One of the women put down her purse as she apparently readied to fight, but an onlooker stepped between the two in an effort to deescalate the tense situation, the video shows.

Others jumped in, working to keep the two women from pummeling each other.

One of the women took off her T-shirt, and the two squared up before one threw the first punch, the surveillance footage shows.

The women tussled, moving out of the camera’s view as the crowd watched. Eventually, both women left the deli and the 18-year-old, identified by her family as Samaya Cashmere Mackey, chased after her friend-turned-foe with a bottle, police sources said.

Mackey pursued her former friend down the street and into nearby Mikey’s Restaurant & Lounge, according to the owner of the eatery, who pleaded with the women to leave.

“One girl ran in here and another came after her,” the owner told The News on Wednesday night. “The second girl had something in her hand. She was after the first girl.”

The women ran down a flight of stairs and to an office and a set of bathrooms, according to the owner.

As Mackey bolted down the stairs behind her rival, she tripped and the bottle shattered, according to police sources.

The broken glass nicked an artery in her right arm, and medics were called to the scene.

“When they brought her out, she was bleeding from her right arm,” the owner said. “The detectives said that there was no knife and that it was self-inflicted.”

Medics rushed Mackey to Brookdale University Hospital, but she could not be saved.

“She slipped and the glass went through her underarm and severed her main artery,” said Mackey’s mother, Silver Mackey. “They couldn’t save her. I’m broken.”

“I lost my baby, and I lost my twin,” added the 36-year-old grieving mother. “This is a freak accident.”

Cops took a woman into custody at the scene but later released her, police said.

It was initially believed that Mackey had been fatally stabbed.

“They were friends,” said her aunt, Tiesha McCloud. “They grew up together. I can’t believe this.”

She said Mackey was an aspiring musician.

“We were getting her into the studio to make her music,” said McCloud. “She inspired other kids to make music, too.”

Mackey was working toward obtaining her GED, according to her mother.

“She loved her friends and family,” said Silver Mackey. “She was thoughtful and respectful. She wanted to be a rapper.”

“I’m broken,” the mother added.

There were no immediate arrests as police continued to investigate the chaotic incident.