Outside Sal’s Deli & Grocery at the corner of East 13th Street and Avenue B in the East Village, longtime customers and friends gathered around candles, flowers and photographs to remember the life of beloved deli worker Abdul Saleh.

Police say the 28-year-old died after he and another man were both shot in the torso outside the deli just after 11:30 p.m. on Saturday.

What You Need To Know

Police say deli worker Abdul Saleh died after he and another man were both shot in the torso outside Sal’s Deli & Grocery in the East Village Saturday night

Saleh’s death came a day after police say a 16-year-old was fatally shot inside a bodega in East New York

So far, no arrests have been made in either incident

East Village resident Eby Castro says Saleh and his brothers ran the deli with great compassion for the community where they both lived and worked.

“They’re all amazing brothers, honestly. If you were hungry and you didn’t have money, they would

not let you go hungry,” Castro said. “They will give you credit. I’ve gotten credit for over $150 at times, because Abdul cared about me, cared about my children, cares about the community.”

Saleh’s death comes in the wake of another deadly incident in which police say 16-year-old Marquise Byfield, of Brownsville, was pronounced dead after he was shot inside a bodega in East New York Friday afternoon.

So far, no arrests have been made in either incident.

While Saleh died of his injuries, officials with the United Bodegas of America say the other man who was shot was hospitalized in stable condition.

The UBA is calling for elected officials to offer more support for bodega owners by providing funding so that every bodega across the city can have a panic button installed that connects directly to the NYPD.

“Unfortunately, he didn’t get one,” UBA co-founder Fernando Mateo said. “Last year, we did a press conference up the block and Abdul, I believe, was involved. He was the owner of the bodega. 

“And he asked us, that when we got the funding, to try and get one for him, but we never got around to that,” Mateo added. “We never got the funding on time to do that.”

In a statement issued this weekend, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he met with the mother of the 16-year-old who was killed in East New York.

“This horrific act is a painful reminder of all that we still have to do in tackling the scourge of gun violence across our city,” he said. “My administration is committed to doing everything in our power to prevent tragedies like this and to build a safer city for all New Yorkers.”

In the meantime, Saleh’s longtime customers gathered outside his deli to mourn the loss of a friend who they say had just returned from Yemen after spending the past few months with his two young children, who live there.

“The only word that’s coming to my mind is that I’m heartbroken,” Ciara Lugo, a longtime friend of Saleh, said. “I hate that this happened. I really hate that this happened. It feels like a piece of the community was taken from us last night.”

The UBA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the shooting in the East Village.

Anyone with information is urged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.