In the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx, a young man's life was tragically cut short over a dispute that began with a request for a single cigarette. Mohammed Qutaish, a 20-year-old Yemeni man working at a local bodega, was shot and killed on February 18, 2020. This violent act stemmed from a seemingly minor conflict that escalated with devastating consequences. The incident unfolded when a 25-year-old woman entered the deli on White Plains Road and asked to buy a loose cigarette.
Qutaish refused the sale, leading to an argument.
The woman reportedly became erratic and left the store, only to return with her 28-year-old brother, Adrien Topping. Surveillance footage from inside the bodega captured the moments that followed, showing Topping and his sister near the counter before he brandished a firearm. In the ensuing confrontation, as Qutaish attempted to defend himself with a broomstick, Topping allegedly shot him in the torso. Emergency services were called to the scene at approximately 11:17 a.m., and Qutaish was rushed to Montefiore Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, police apprehended Topping and his sister nearby and recovered a gun. Adrien Topping was subsequently arrested and faced charges of murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon. His sister was also taken into custody and was later arrested on an unrelated drug charge for possession of a crack pipe.
The death of Mohammed Qutaish sent shockwaves through the local community, with friends and customers creating a memorial outside the bodega to honor his memory. They remembered him as a humble, respectful, and hardworking young man who was simply trying to make a living. Qutaish had been born in the United States but was raised overseas by his father, who had feared for his son's safety in the Bronx. He had returned to the U.S. just two years before his death. His killing, tragically similar to another fatal shooting of a Yemeni deli worker in the Bronx just days earlier, prompted calls for increased safety measures for bodega employees and an outcry for justice from his family and community leaders.
