Mohmediyan Tarwala, 26, was working as a clerk at the Craft Beer Lotto Cigar Shop on Cross Bay Boulevard in Ozone Park on the evening of October 26, 2020, when a confrontation ended in lethal violence. Employees recognized 63-year-old Steven Cohen, described as a chronic shoplifter; when Tarwala moved to escort him from the store, Cohen allegedly produced a handgun and shot Tarwala in the stomach. Two additional shots were fired, one striking the plexiglass divider installed because of the coronavirus.

An off-duty NYPD officer, Jason Maharaj, who happened to be in the store, tackled and disarmed Cohen and held him until uniformed officers from the 106th Precinct arrived. Tarwala was taken to Jamaica Hospital and pronounced dead. Cohen was taken into custody and charged with murder, attempted murder, and two counts of criminal possession of a firearm.

Colleagues remembered Tarwala as an only child who sent most of his earnings to his parents in India; pandemic restrictions at the time prevented returning his remains there. Did anyone witness patterns of theft or threats at that shop before this shooting, or does anyone have information about interactions between the victim and the accused?