A man was arrested and charged in the fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old employee inside a CVS store on Long Island on Christmas, the Suffolk County Police said on Friday.
John Pilaccio, a 43-year-old resident of Lindenhurst, N.Y., was charged with second-degree murder, the police said in a statement. His arraignment at the First District Court in Central Islip has been scheduled for Saturday.
Officers responded to a call at the store, at 20 East Montauk Highway in Lindenhurst, just before 7 p.m. on Thursday. The police said the employee had been stabbed in the chest. The suspect, described as a man in his 40s, had fled on foot.
The victim, identified as Edeedson Cine of West Babylon, N.Y., was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip, where he was pronounced dead.
Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said on Friday before the arrest that investigators had identified a person of interest in the attack, based on witness descriptions and video from outside the store. It was not clear what had led up to the stabbing or what the possible motive might have been, he said.
The Police Department confirmed on Friday afternoon that it had received surveillance video from inside the store that was provided by CVS. Earlier on Friday, Commissioner Catalina complained that CVS had not given the police full access to the video, more than 18 hours after Mr. Cine was stabbed. He said the lack of video was hampering the police department’s ability to make an arrest.
“I am shocked and appalled by it,” Commissioner Catalina told reporters at about 1 p.m., according to a recording of his comments provided by the Suffolk County Police.
CVS said it had emailed the video requested by investigators to the police department at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. “It took quite a bit of time to pull and package in the specific manner they asked for,” CVS said in a statement.
Rose Cine, Mr. Cine’s grandmother, said that her grandson had lived with his parents and that he had been “very loving” and attended a Seventh-day Adventist church with his three siblings. She said she could not imagine why anyone would attack him in his workplace.
“Why inside of CVS?” she said in an interview on Friday. “Why where he was working? He just gets up and goes to work — that’s all he does.”
CVS said in a statement that Mr. Cine had worked at CVS for 10 months and was known for his strong work ethic.
“Our thoughts are with Edeedson’s family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time,” the statement said, adding that employees at the store would have access to counseling and support services. The Police Department has asked that anyone with information about the killing contact the Suffolk County Homicide Squad.
Maia Coleman contributed reporting.
Jenny Gross is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news and other topics.
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