The owner of the Bronx bodega is finally speaking out about what exactly happened that night when Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Felix ran into his store seeking help from alleged gang memebers.
According to Pix 11, Modesto Cruz said he panicked the night of the fatal stabbing. He said everything happened to quick for him to understand what exactly was going on in his store.
“I just feel very, very bad,” Cruz said. “I do remember his face. He was so scared.”
Surveillance footage shows Lesandro jumping over the counter and Modesto trying to hide him from the alleged gang members.
He told the site that he was closing his store when Lesandro ran inside and tried to hop over the counter. He said he stopped him at first until Lesandro started yelling, “They’re looking for me!”
He said he recognized the young boy and could tell how scared he was and tried to help.
The attackers spotted Lesandro behind the counter and dragged him out of the store and stabbed him multiple times.
Modesto claims he called 911 immediately and stressed the urgency that an ambulance was needed, but the operator kept on asking him a series of questions.
A video that has since gone viral showed the teen entering the store and a man pointing toward the exit of the door, leaving many to believe that he was kicking Lesandro out.
Modesto says he wasn’t kicking him out, but was telling him that the ambulance was taking to long and that the hospital was only a few blocks away.
Lesandro tried to run to the hospital, but sadly passed out in the street and died.
