By Jefferson Siegel
A typically quiet afternoon at an East Village supermarket erupted into pandemonium last Friday when a part-time worker stabbed two employees, killing one and seriously injuring another.
According to police and witnesses, at 3:10 p.m., James Gonzalez, 42, a maintenance worker at the Key Food supermarket on E. Fourth St. and Avenue A, took a large knife from the butcher counter and proceeded to the manager’s office at the far end of the front of the store. Walking up three steps, turning right and up another seven steps, Gonzalez entered the small, glassed-in cubicle and confronted 24-year-old cashier Tina Negron, stabbing her in the torso.
Reports said the killer had been involved with Negron before she ended their relationship.
He then stabbed bookkeeper Rosheda Andradas, 27, in the torso and leg. Both women were rushed to Beth Israel Hospital. Negron, who lived in the Lower East Side, died just before 6 p.m. Andradas remained in critical condition.
The body of Key Food cashier Tina Negron, 24, being loaded into an ambulance after she was fatally stabbed.
Gonzalez then fled the store, dropping the knife on the street and running south on Avenue A, according to police and witnesses. Sources told The Villager a K-9 police dog followed his scent west on E. Third St., then north on First Ave. to the L train station at 14th St.
Police reported Gonzalez’s last known address as 89 West Tremont Ave. in the Bronx. As of press time he remained at large.
The corner of Fourth St. and Avenue A was roped off with yellow police tape as the store closed for the rest of the day. Local residents stood across the street looking shocked and incredulous as the news spread.
“She was a real sweet kid, a very, very diligent worker,” Joy Keithline of E. Fourth St. said of the cashier.
“I also knew the bookkeeper, a very efficient lady,” added Barbara Cooper, who also lives on E. Fourth St. “These people take care of us every day.”
“I’m just stunned,” Cooper said.
Sue Filipski, an artist, has lived next door to the supermarket for four years.
“The East Village is the first sense of community I’ve ever had in my life,” she said, “and to see one of these people, who you deal with on a daily basis, and you hear that they’ve been murdered in such a disgusting way, I’m heartsick.”
As evening fell, store employees in red jackets occasionally stepped outside for a cigarette or a breath of fresh air but declined to speak with reporters.
By Sunday afternoon the store had reopened. “Band on the Run” by Paul McCartney and Wings was playing on the P.A. system but couldn’t mask the unease evident on several employees’ faces.
“I’m not commenting on the incident,” was all a manager would say.
A small memorial of candles and flowers accumulated just outside the front door. A customer stopped in front of the shrine and crossed himself before entering. Along the avenue a “Wanted” flier with Gonzalez’s face hung in the windows of several stores.
Police ask that anyone with knowledge of Gonzalez’s whereabouts call Detective Ford at the Ninth Precinct at 212-477-7809 or 1-800-577-TIPS, an anonymous tip line.
