Donte Thomas, 33, was working as a clerk at K’s Convenient Deli, 8 East Mount Eden Avenue in the Bronx, on the evening of February 16, 2021. At about 8:40 p.m. a man identified as Tykwan McLeod entered the deli and shot Thomas in the face, killing him instantly; Thomas was then struck two more times as he fell.

The confrontation continued as McLeod tried to flee. The bodega owner and another employee tried to subdue him; during the struggle McLeod shot the owner in the chest at point-blank range. The owner survived after being rushed to a local hospital. An off-duty NYPD auxiliary officer recovered the firearm from the floor and McLeod, 49 and from the Norwood section of the Bronx, was taken into custody at the scene.

A jury later convicted McLeod of second-degree murder, first-degree attempted assault, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. On January 6, 2025, a Bronx Supreme Court Justice sentenced him to 40 years to life. Did anyone who knew Donte or worked at that deli notice anything unusual about the night of February 16, 2021?