On the morning of September 28, 2016, a chilling act of violence cut short the life of 38-year-old Neil Thompson in a Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn deli. Thompson was inside the bodega at the corner of Hart Street and Tompkins Avenue, where he was a regular customer, simply buying his breakfast. At approximately 7:24 a.m., a gunman entered the store and opened fire without saying a word.
The assailant, later identified as 25-year-old Maurice Hennegan, was specifically targeting Thompson.
Surveillance footage from inside the deli captured the brutal attack, showing Hennegan shooting Thompson multiple times. Even after Thompson fell to the floor, Hennegan stood over him and continued to fire, shooting him four times in the back at point-blank range. A 64-year-old bystander who was standing behind Thompson was also struck by the gunfire, sustaining a non-fatal wound to the hand. Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motive for the deadly shooting was a dispute involving a woman. According to trial testimony, Hennegan had confronted his estranged girlfriend, who was in a relationship with Thompson, prior to the shooting. On the morning of the murder, Hennegan was seen driving past the laundromat that Thompson managed with his mother before finding him in the nearby deli.
Following the shooting, Hennegan attempted to alter his appearance by wearing glasses, a fake mustache, growing out his hair, and using a cane. Despite his efforts to evade capture, he was arrested on February 16, 2017. Evidence presented at his trial included the incriminating surveillance video and text messages in which he admitted his guilt. On March 5, 2019, Maurice Hennegan was convicted of second-degree murder. He was subsequently sentenced to 32 years to life in prison for the murder of Neil Thompson and the wounding of the bystander.
