You are reading

Homeless Man Indicted for Murder in Shooting Death of Deli Worker in Ozone Park Store: DA

137-02 Cross Bay Blvd. (Google Maps)

Dec. 8, 2020 By Christian Murray

A homeless man who fatally shot a worker inside an Ozone Park deli in October has been indicted for murder.

Steven Cohen, 63, shot at two employees inside the Crossbay Express Deli on Oct. 26, killing Tarwala Mahmadkhurshid, 26, while missing a second deli worker.

According to the charges, Cohen entered the 137-02 Cross Bay Blvd. store at around 6:15 p.m. and became embroiled in an argument with Mahmadkhurshid and was ordered to leave.

Cohen came back with a gun and shot Mahmadkhurshid in the abdomen, killing him. He fired at the other worker but missed.

An off-duty police officer was inside the store at the time of the shooting and disarmed Cohen. The officer held Cohen at the store until other officers arrived.

“The defendant’s alleged actions took the life of one man, and could have ended with another man being killed if not for the brave actions of an off-duty police officer who selflessly stepped in and disarmed the defendant,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement.

Cohen, who has no known address, was arraigned Monday on an indictment charging him with murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the second degree, among other charges. He has been held without bail and ordered to return to court on Feb. 8, 2021.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Dead body of adult woman pulled from the freezing waters off Rockaway Park Friday morning: NYPD

First responders pulled the body of a woman from the frigid waters off Rockaway Park on Friday morning, and investigators are working to determine how she died.

Police from the 100th Precinct in Rockaway Beach responded to a 911 call at 8:44 a.m. reporting a person in the Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of Beach 109th Street and Shore Front Parkway, where the body of an adult woman was recovered from the surf, unconscious and unresponsive.