Staten Island dad shot and killed while working at convenience store: 'Think about his kids'
CASTLETON CORNERS, Staten Island (PIX11) – A 35-year-old father of two young children was shot and killed while working at a Staten Island convenience store Saturday night.
Police found Bassam Khateeb with a gunshot wound to the chest in the Manor Deli & Convenience store at 444 Manor Rd. in Castleton Corners at around 8 p.m., police said. Khateeb was rushed to the hospital but could not be saved.
Police are searching for two men wanted in connection to the shooting. Surveillance video showed the men running out of the deli after the shooting.
The motive of the shooting remains unclear. However, the incident may have been a robbery that turned fatal, sources told PIX11 News.
"Why did you do that? Think about his kids, think about his life. Think about the bad thing you did," said Khadijah Abuabed, the grieving wife of the victim.
"He was my friend. We worked together for a while. He always helped me. He was always very good to me," said Jennifer McKinzie, a friend of Khateeb.
Another friend of Khateeb's also had a message for the shooter. "If you would have just told him what you wanted, he would have given it to you. They didn’t have to kill him. They didn’t have to take his life," Khateeb's friend said.
Surveillance video showed the two suspects trying to enter a smoke shop just a few blocks away before the shooting. When they couldn't get in, they went to Khateeb’s deli instead.
A customer of the deli found Khateeb bleeding and called 911. By 10 p.m. that night, police notified his wife.
"They told me, 'Your husband was shot, but he’s alive,' in the beginning. 'He's OK,' they said," Abuabed said. However, Khateeb died shortly after being shot.
Khateeb and his family came to the United States from Jordan and went into business. His wife of 11 years said she has no idea what she will do without him.
"My husband was a nice man. He took care of us … He's a good, nice person," said Abuabed. "My family, nobody is here. What will I do?"
Abuabed said she will make sure her two children, ages 8 and 6, remember their loving father.