Brooklyn Bodega Worker Claims Self-Defense in Fatal Scuffle With Local ‘Neighborhood Nuisance’

Brooklyn Bodega Worker Claims Self-Defense in Fatal Scuffle With Local ‘Neighborhood Nuisance’

A Brooklyn bodega employee says he was forced to defend himself during a fatal altercation with a man he described as a “neighborhood nuisance” who threatened to kill him inside the Royal Deli & Grill earlier this week.

Kelvin Melo, 48, told the Daily News that Gerry Hill, 59, barged into the Bushwick shop Monday night and immediately started shouting, disrupting customers and yelling threats at staff. Melo said Hill punched him in the face, sparking a struggle on the floor.

“I grabbed him and he fell on top of me and we were fighting,” Melo recalled, noting that he initially thought the blood on his hands was his own.

During the melee, another employee, identified as Mukel Shaibi, reportedly struck Hill with a baton — a stick normally used to break ice — as the struggle unfolded. Hill eventually left the store but was later rushed to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Melo maintains that both he and Shaibi were acting in self-defense after Hill allegedly threatened, “I’m going to f–king kill you” and challenged employees to fight.

NYPD officers questioned both workers but, as of Thursday, no charges had been filed. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The deadly clash has renewed attention on the risks faced by New York City bodega employees, who frequently deal with theft, harassment, and violence while serving their neighborhoods.