Two Shot in Holdup On McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn

Two people were shot Tuesday evening in an attempted robbery on McDonald Avenue on the Flatbush-Kensington border. Both victims were released from the hospital shortly after admittance and one of the two perpetrators is in custody.

Two armed men entered the Appliance Showroom near the corner of McDonald Avenue and Avenue J at around 7:00 p.m. and demanded cash. Joseph Cohen, the proprietor, and a worker chased the robbers out of the store.
The would-be thieves opened fire and shot the worker, who sustained a minor wound to his hand. Cohen pursued them further to Dahill Road and 52nd Street, where one gunman shot at him. The bullet grazed Cohen’s torso, leaving him with a very minor wound.

“Thank G-d that he is okay,” Sammy Sutton, a friend and neighbor of Cohen’s, told Hamodia.  “The doctor said that if it would have been a millimeter over, it could have been very serious. It’s a real nes Chanukah.”

Police arrived on the scene shortly after the shooting and captured one perpetrator. The second remains at large.

“The NYPD and Hatzolah responded immediately,” said Assemblyman Dov Hikind. “Everyone in our community has a sense of assurance knowing that the NYPD are always here to protect us.”

By Wednesday morning, Mr. Cohen was back in his store discussing legal details with police and receiving greetings from fellow merchants on the block, happy to see him alive and well less than 24 hours after the attempted robbery.

Cohen himself declined to speak to Hamodia regarding the incident.

“I’m just happy that this story had a happy ending,” said Sutton. “I heard last light about what happened and heard that he was okay, but when someone told me that he was at work this morning I didn’t quite believe it till I came [and saw] for myself.”

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the December 25th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.