A suspect was arrested Wednesday in connection with the killing of a bodega worker in Brooklyn last week, according to police.
Daquan David, 29, was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon following the fatal shooting of Nazim Berry on Feb. 27 in Crown Heights.
Authorities said Berry was shot after the two men got into a dispute over a cigar.
“Everyone in the community deserves a right to live, work and raise their family in the community without the fear of their loved ones being a victim of crime,” said 77th Precinct Community Council President Brian Saunders.
Saunders said that right was taken away from Berry when he was killed. He was one of three people killed in the Brooklyn neighborhood in the span of a week.
“There’s other victims as well that we still have to find some resolve," Saunders said. “The community has to come together. We have to not tolerate this.”
United Bodega Workers of America spokesman Fernando Mateo said Berry’s family has been left “totally devastated,” noting they’re calling for the maximum sentence if David is convicted.
“Crimes like these need to be punished. The laws need to be tougher. We need to send a message to everyone out there looking to commit a crime," Mateo said, adding that the organization is sending its own message by arming and training members with guns to protect themselves.
“We have a secret society of hundreds of bodega owners that are now armed and are willing to defend their community and defend themselves,” Mateo said.
Saunders would instead like community members and officials to come together and brainstorm solutions to prevent further killings.
“We have to highlight it. That’s the only way there’s change,” Saunders said.
No arrests have been announced in two other cases involving the deaths of a 13-year-old boy and a 33-year-old man.