Fatal shooting of elderly bystander outside NYC deli captured in chilling video

Dramatic surveillance footage captured the shocking moment a 66-year-old bystander was felled by a bullet to the head in a drive-by shooting in Washington Heights — while standing next to his pregnant daughter-in-law.

Reda Girgis — who had been in the US for just three days to visit his son and daughter-in-law — was on the phone outside ChopCheese Deli 2, his son’s store, around 7 p.m. Tuesday when he tumbles to the ground, the video shows.

A group of teenagers who had been hanging outside the deli is seen scrambling for safety just moments before Girgis falls to the sidewalk — with the pregnant woman then frantically running into the store a split-second later.

“I heard [a] noise like firecrackers,” deli manager Gamal Abouelezz told The Post on Wednesday. “All of a sudden I saw the man land on the floor.

“The man who died is the father of the owner,” Abouelezz said. “He came from Egypt to visit him three days ago. He was visiting his son and his pregnant daughter-in-law. He was here to celebrate the baby.”

He said the victim’s son, Haney Girgis, was not in the store at the time and identified the woman who was standing next to the owner’s father as his son’s wife.

Surveillance camera footage outside the Washington Heights deli shows teenagers scrambling for cover.New York Post The victim’s pregnant daughter-in-law frantically ran back inside the store after the shooting on Tuesday night. New York Post Reda Girgis, 66, had only been in the US for three days to visit his son and pregnant daughter-in-law when he was shot and killed.New York Post

“He was standing outside on the phone to his son,” Abouelezz said. “His daughter-in-law came and they talked together. She was in the store dropping off groceries. All of a sudden I saw him shot. I saw the man die on [the security camera] TV. I went outside. Everyone was panicked.”

The surveillance footage shows a crowd of bystanders gathering around the dead man’s body, with paramedics arriving minutes later, placing him on a stretcher and performing chest compressions.

A graphic image shows Girgis on the sidewalk with blood splattered across the ground.

A heart-wrenching second video shot by a local resident shows a man identified by a source as Girgis’ son trying desperately to get to his father’s body on the sidewalk, only to be held back by police officers at the scene. 

The victim is seen laying in a pool of blood while spectators look on.

Police said Girgis was taken to Metropolitan Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Witnesses told cops the suspects fled the scene at West 162nd Street and Broadway in a dark gray SUV, possibly an Audi, with New Jersey license plates, heading south on Broadway.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Investigators believe Girgis was the unintended target of gang-related violence, according to law enforcement sources.

Reda Girgis Reda Girgis, 66, was standing outside the ChopCheese Deli 2, his son’s business, when he was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting Tuesday night. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post

Abouelezz said he was fortunate to escape harm himself — one of the bullets came just inches from him.

“I was standing at my notebook doing accounting when the bullet hit the counter,” he said. “I was lucky.

“It’s terrible what happened,” he added, choking back tears. “I liked him so much. .He was a family man. He loved to be with his kids. His son was getting crazy yesterday. He couldn’t believe it. It’s terrible.”

Meanwhile, Francisco Marte, founder of the Bodega and Small Business Group, denounced the violence plaguing the city and, in recent months, Big Apple bodegas and grocery stores.

“This is so sad,” Marte said at the scene of the shooting. “We have so much violence. Summer hasn’t even started yet and we’ve been seeing so much violence. Sadly, most of the time the bodegas are the victims of violence. Bodega workers are very scared.”

Earlier this month, a nonprofit group, the Small Business Security Initiative, announced a pilot program with Bronx officials to provide $1 million in security upgrades for bodegas in the South Bronx, Harlem and Washington Heights, with plans to expand.

Last week, Mayor Eric Adams released his much-awaited report on retail theft in the five boroughs, which offered limited solutions but did call for police to beef up their presence and keep a list of serial shoplifters.

Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts, Joe Marino and Amanda Woods