A New York City candy store owner was violently attacked early Tuesday by a suspect with a belt attached to a rock after refusing to buy some items.
Ray Alvarez, owner of Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A in the East Village, said he stepped out of the shop around 3 a.m. to get some fresh air when a man carrying a six-pack of soda and another male approached him and asked if he wanted to buy it.
Alvarez said he declined the offer.
"They got very mad," he told the news outlet. "He told his friend ‘Hold this package. I’m going to kill this motherf--ker.'"
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The man then struck Alvarez on his face with a rock attached to a belt, the New York Police Department said. Alvarez was injured in the eye and sustained a laceration to the head. He refused medical treatment.
The suspect fled on foot on Avenue A, police said. No arrests have been made, the NYPD said.
"I did expect that he was really going to kill me," Alvarez said.
Ray's Candy Store is open 24 hours and has been at its current location since 1974. Alvarez said he plans to retire in 10 years when he turns 100.
One person said the neighborhood has changed for the worse.
"From him to be outside at 3 a.m. and get socked in his eye is just disturbing and disgusting," he said. "It just shows you that the neighborhood is changing and it's not safe for everybody."
