A 19-year-old man died in an armed robbery in the parking lot of a Brooklyn BJ’s store late Thursday, authorities say, with another teenager facing murder and other charges.
Investigators responding to reports of a shooting in the wholesaler’s Shore Parkway lot, in Gravesend, around 10:15 p.m. found Dereck Chen, of Bensonhurst, shot in the face and shoulder. He died at a hospital.
According to investigators, someone had tried to rob Chen in the parking lot. He had been hanging out on the third floor of the parking structure with three other friends when they decided to leave and exit via the elevator, a senior law enforcement official said. They walked into the elevator, followed by an unknown man.
The friends told police the stranger pulled out a firearm and took belongings from everyone inside the elevator. Once it reached the bottom, the official said a couple of the friends fled while Chen tried to recover the items taken from him — that’s when the suspect opened fire.
Police said a weapon was recovered at the scene, and that 18-year-old Edino Tzul was charged with murder, six counts of robbery and gun charges. Attorney information for Tzul was not immediately available.
