Cops executed search warrant at Bay Ridge smoke shop day before shooting, identify suspect

On Tuesday, April 10, a day before the shooting at a smoke shop at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue that left one employee shot in the torso, cops executed a search warrant at the store and found untaxed cigarettes and drugs on the premises, according to Captain Robert Conwell, the commanding officer of the 68th Precinct.

Conwell told members of the 68th Precinct Community Council, gathered at the station house, 333 65th Street for their April meeting, that the shooting was an isolated incident and appeared to have been the result of an “ongoing dispute maybe between different stores. It’s not part of a pattern.”

In addition, he said, police have identified 26-year-old Ibrahim Dibawadallah as a suspect in the non-fatal shooting. He is described by authorities as a white male, 5’11”, 250 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. His last known address was near Senator Street and Fifth Avenue.

The shooting occurred on Wednesday, April 11 at around 11:56 p.m., when Dibawadallah, wearing beige clothing and with a scarf around his face, according to Conwell, allegedly entered the shop and fired several shots, one striking the victim, a male employee, in the torso. The suspect then fled the scene, having stolen an undetermined amount of cash.

“Obviously, the location is on our radar and we will continue to monitor it as needed,” Conwell told his listeners.

If anyone has information about the shooting, call the 68th Precinct Detective Squad at 718-439-4236.

Helen Klein contributed reporting to this article.

 

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