Excenia Mette, a beloved former bodega owner in Harlem, is fatally shot during a Tuesday night gunfight that erupted outside her apartment. The 61-year-old grandmother ventured outside her beauty salon to check on her grandson after hearing gunfire, only to be struck in the head by a bullet intended for another. Heart-wrenching surveillance footage captures Mette’s final moments as she attempts to retreat to safety but collapses amid continuing gunfire.
A treasured member of her community, Mette owned the first woman- and Black-owned bodega in New York City, which she operated for nearly 40 years until it closed during the pandemic. In the wake of her tragic death, friends and family have set up a makeshift memorial outside her salon, celebrating her legacy and the love she shared with those around her. As police continue to investigate the shooting, one suspect, Darious Smith, has been arrested, while the second gunman remains at large.
Read full story at nypost.com
