Jayquan Lewis, 21, was shot point-blank inside a Bronx deli just after 4pm Friday
An aspiring actor who had appeared as an extra on Law & Order was shot dead Friday in a Bronx deli, in the latest shocking example of New York's shooting epidemic.
Jayquan Lewis, 21, was shot multiple times by at BH gourmet Deli in Fordham at just 4pm.
Security footage shows a man with dreadlocks and dressed in a white tank top, denim shorts, sneakers and a shoulder bag emerge from behind the shelves and fire a pistol repeatedly.
Lewis, who was standing at the cashier counter with another man then collapses to the floor in the 14-second clip seen by by the New York Post, .
Another person standing next to Lewis at the counter on his phone is seen fleeing out of frame.
After fatally shooting Lewis the gunman appears to casually walk out of the deli.
Lewis was shot three times in the chest, three times in the arm and one time in the stomach. He was pronounced dead at St Barnabas Hospital.
Police are still looking for the killer, whose motive is unknown.
Lewis was an aspiring actor, and had appeared several times as an extra on police drama Law & Order, his mother Marisol Sanchez told the NY Daily News. He is also credited on IMDb for a 2019 movie called Joyland.
Sanchez, 43, said her son had interacted with celebrities, adding: 'They told him, "I see you making it".'
Lewis had recently decided to become a nurse, and was supposed to start classes in September.
In CCTV footage obtained by the New York Post a man in a white tank top, denim shorts, sneakers and a shoulder bag emerged from behind the shelves of BH Gourmet Deli in Fordham and repeatedly shot Lewis
Lewis's mother Marisol Sanchez recalled her son saying 'Mommy I'm going to the store to get something to drink, do you want something to drink?' She said the call was 'her worst nightmare ever'
When Sanchez got the call her son had been shot she ran over to the deli she saw officers performing CPR on her son
Sanchez, 43, said the last thing he had said to her was: 'Mommy I'm going to the store to get something to drink, do you want something to drink?'
She struggled to speak through tears as she recalled how she told him: 'Hurry up, you know I don't want you in the streets, she said.
Before leaving Lewis said: 'Mommy, I love you, I'll be right back.'
Sanchez then got in the shower, and got the call that her son had been shot as she was getting dressed afterwards.
When she ran over to the deli she saw officers performing CPR on her son.
She said the call was 'her worst nightmare ever'.
When asked what kind of person her son was Sanchez said: 'He's a kid. He's very good-hearted.'
She also said that her son 'gets into fights (and) arguments'. Police do not know if the victim and gunman knew each other or exchanged any words.
Officers responded to a call of an assault at the deli located on Bainbridge Avenue when they found Lewis' body. He was shot seven times
Police are still looking for the killer, whose motive is unknown
The incident came as gun violence in New York City continues to spiral out of control.
The Big Apple - like many metropolitan cities across the US - has been plagued by gun violence in the last year.
To date, there's been a nearly 15 percent increase in gun violence over last year, which had the highest recorded crime stats in decades, with 942 shooting incidents so far this year, compared to 820 for the same period of 2020.
Shooting victims have rocketed by nearly 11 percent year-on-year, from 1,000 between January and the start of August 2020, to 1,109 from the start of this year until last week.
In April, NYC Mayor Bill de
