{"id":409522,"date":"2025-11-28T00:53:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T00:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/409522\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T00:53:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T00:53:20","slug":"deli-worker-in-posh-nyc-nabe-arrested-for-throwing-knife-at-aggressive-intruder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/409522\/","title":{"rendered":"Deli worker in posh NYC nabe arrested for throwing knife at ‘aggressive’ intruder"},"content":{"rendered":"

A deli worker in posh Gramercy was slapped with felony charges for allegedly throwing a knife at an \u201caggressive\u201d intruder inside the shop this week \u2013 while the store owner claimed the arrested employee was simply \u201ctrying to protect the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mahmoud Bourada, 34, flung the knife during a clash with another 34-year-old man who he\u2019d ordered to leave the Heavenly Market where he worked on Third Avenue near East 23rd Street around 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to cops and law enforcement sources.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The blade cut the troublemaker on his left hand, but he was uncooperative with cops and refused medical attention, authorities said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"MahmoudMahmoud Bourada, 34, allegedly threw a knife at an \u201caggressive\u201d intruder inside the Heavenly Market on Third Avenue near East 23rd Street late Tuesday. Google Maps<\/p>\n

Bourada, meanwhile, was taken away in cuffs, facing charges of first-degree attempted assault and second-degree assault, according to a criminal complaint.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ahmed Saleh, 24, who owns the deli with his father and brothers \u2013 all of whom emigrated from Yemen 20 years ago \u2013 told The Post Wednesday that Bourada \u201cwas just trying to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working hard for everything because it\u2019s a family business and nothing was given, so we have to protect that at all costs. We have to protect the business,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what my employee was trying to do. He\u2019s a good man. He was trying to protect the business so that he can have a job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the incident escalated to violence, Bourada called Saleh \u201cpanicking,\u201d the deli owner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said the guy was being really aggressive, threatening,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cI told him to hang tough and I would call the cops. He called me back a minute later and said [the intruder] left.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time Saleh arrived, Bourada was already in police custody at the precinct, but his phone was still lying on the floor in the store.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI picked it up and went down to the precinct and tried to give it back to him,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cBut they said no. I asked them, \u2018Is he going home? He can\u2019t see his child on Thanksgiving? He can\u2019t bring the food home? This isn\u2019t right!\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saleh described Bourada as a friend as well as an employee \u2013 and a father who worked to support his family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known him for a few months and he needed a job,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cHe needed a job to pay for food for his kids, for medical bills for all sorts of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ABourada\u2019s boss, Ahmed Saleh, 24, said his worker was simply \u201ctrying to protect the business so that he can have a job.\u201d Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I try to do the right thing \u2013 I gave him a job,\u201d he added. \u201cHe\u2019s a very good man. He has a very good heart. He just wants to make a living for his family and go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bourada, of Brooklyn, was cut loose in time for the holiday \u2013 with a judge releasing him on his own recognizance Wednesday evening over prosecutors\u2019 request for $5,000 cash bail or $15,000 bond, the DA\u2019s office said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But hours earlier, one of the deli\u2019s seven employees \u2013 a cook \u2013 called Saleh announcing that he was quitting over the fiasco, and because \u201cthis area is just getting too bad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The downturn began a year-and-a-half ago, when a shelter opened down the block, Saleh said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I have stress because they\u2019re constantly stealing everyday and they steal everything,\u201d the owner said. \u201cLike this whole shelf was emptied out the other day. My employees know \u2013 I mean. it\u2019s not going to take too long. We keep losing money and eventually they\u2019re going to lose their jobs. They\u2019re not going to have money to bring home and feed their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis area was beautiful,\u201d he added. \u201c[Now] they\u2019re always screaming outside. They\u2019re coming in demanding free stuff, begging for change and if they don\u2019t get what they want, it\u2019s trouble! It\u2019s like we work for them. That\u2019s what the city did \u2013 they made it so that we work for them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A deli worker in posh Gramercy was slapped with felony charges for allegedly throwing a knife at an…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":409523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,11307,12937,24587,4219,6335,69775,5249,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-409522","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arrests","10":"tag-assaults","11":"tag-bodega","12":"tag-crime","13":"tag-exclusive","14":"tag-intruders","15":"tag-manhattan","16":"tag-metro","17":"tag-new-york","18":"tag-new-york-city","19":"tag-newyork","20":"tag-newyorkcity","21":"tag-ny","22":"tag-nyc","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-united-states-of-america","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","27":"tag-us","28":"tag-us-news","29":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115624595897062829","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}