Following a fight at a Harlem fish shop, one of the brothers who was stabbed has been hit with criminal charges, while the worker responsible for allegedly injuring him and killing his sibling claimed that he did not intend to hurt anyone.
Junior Aquino Hernandez, aged 34, was charged with murder, assault, and weapons possession, but maintained that the stabbing was an accident as he was led out of Manhattan’s 30th Precinct stationhouse late on Wednesday.
Hernandez, who was awaiting arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday, is accused of stabbing brothers Malik Burrell, aged 25, and Robert “Bobby” Burrell, aged 29, during a brawl at the Fish Express Fish Market on St. Nicholas Place around 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday. While the younger man died from his injuries, the older brother was hospitalized in stable condition.
The NYPD has since charged the hospitalized brother, Bobby Burrell, with robbery, burglary, and assault for his alleged role in the fight. According to a high-ranking police source, the deadly scuffle began when Hernandez accused one of the brothers of stealing shrimp from the store, and the situation escalated when the brother allegedly punched an employee and left the store only to return with his sibling.
Hernandez allegedly pulled out a work knife and stabbed both brothers in the abdomen during the second fight, leading to the death of Malik Burrell.
The brothers’ father, Robert Burrell, stated that his sons were purchasing shrimp for a birthday meal for his younger son and that they did not need to steal anything, as they had money on their cash app and in their pockets.
»One of the brothers stabbed during a fight at Harlem fish shop hit with criminal charges«