A Big Apple deli worker who was shot and killed while at work had expressed fears of falling victim to the rampant violence that was plaguing small businesses last year.
Abdul Saleh, 28, became the latest victim of that bloodshed over the weekend during a late-night scuffle that spilled out of his family-run Alphabet City store.
Abdul Saleh, a worker at Sal’s Deli and Grocery in Alphabet City said he was worried about violence last year. WABC
Abdul Saleh was killed Saturday during a scuffle outside Sal’s Deli and Grocery in Alphabet City. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
Police sources said a second man who was wounded in the shooting may be a suspect but has not been charged. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
His tragic death came nearly a year after an interview he gave to WABC-TV News in a report about “panic buttons” for bodega workers to help protect them from armed and dangerous street thugs.
“People get shot, killed,” Saleh told the local station in May 2025. “Sometimes you get robbed and the police never respond quick, come three or four hours late.”
The interview came as the United Bodega Association business group announced a $1.6 million program to install panic buttons at 500 city stores amid a spate of violent crimes at delis and bodegas, including a series of fatal incidents in The Bronx earlier that year.
The buttons would bypass the traditional 911 system and alert NYPD central command directly.
A memorial for Abdul Saleh outside Sal’s Deli and Grocery in Manhattan on April 27, 2026. James Keivom for NY Post
Mia Safanda (right) and Vito DiTomaso placing a sign and photos of Saleh at the memorial. James Keivom for NY Post
It is not known if there was a panic button at Sal’s Deli and Grocery, at East 13th Street and Avenue B, where Saleh — a father of two young children — was working when a dispute erupted shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Saturday and spilled out onto the sidewalk.
The scuffle turned deadly when someone fired off shots, striking the bodega clerk in the torso and mortally wounding him.
Law enforcement sources told The Post that the alleged gunman, also 28, was wounded when one of the bullets ricocheted and struck him.
Carmen Feliciano (left) being comforted by Mia Safanda as they pay their respects to Saleh. James Keivom for NY Post
A loved one of Saleh placing flowers at the memorial. James Keivom for NY Post
He was taken to a hospital with non-fatal injuries.
Police have not filed charges in the case.