Twin sisters stabbed – one fatally – after rejecting man’s advances at Brooklyn deli

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

A woman has been killed and her twin sister hospitalised after being stabbed for apparently rejecting a man’s advances inside a Brooklyn deli.

Samyia Spain and her sister Sanyia, both 19, were with a group of friends and relatives inside Slope Natural Plus on on Fourth Avenue and St Mark’s Place in Park Slope, New York City, at around 2.20am on Sunday, according to police and sources.

A witness said the attack happened when a man made a move on the two young women at the deli, and they rejected his advances.

“One of them guys complimented two girls, walked in with their friends, and they said, ‘no, we’re not attracted’ so he called them names. They called him names back. He walked out. He walked down the block angry,” the witness told NBC4.

The witness added that the group inside the deli then locked the doors before the man returned.

open image in gallery

“He walked away again, so they unlocked the door so everybody could leave. The second they opened the door, he ran back into the door and started attacking them,” the witness said.

Police said that Samyia was stabbed in the chest and died from her injuries, while her sister, Sanyia, was stabbed in the arm. She was transported to hospital where she remains in a stable condition.

A worker at the deli said the twins had been coming there for years.

“They’re very nice. I know their father, too. They come here all the time, customers for maybe, I would say, over 10 years I know them,” Mohammed Alba said, according to CBS. “Take somebody else’s life, a young lady, 19 years old, a beautiful girl.”

open image in gallery

The man and his friends were allegedly intoxicated and ran off after the attack, witnesses said.

So far, no arrests have been made. It is not clear if the victims were known to the attackers.

Hours after the incident, loved ones of the twin sisters gathered outside of the slain teen’s apartment building to set up a makeshift memorial with flowers, teddy bears and candles.

“She was a very good person,” one friend told The New York Post. “She was in school, she was working. She was very lovable. She didn’t start any trouble. All she wanted to do was have fun. She didn’t have to go out like that.”