A Bronx smoke shop worker was taken into police custody after he allegedly shot and killed a man who he claimed was attempting to rob the store.
The employee of the convenience store and unlicensed cannabis dispensary on East Tremont Avenue allegedly shot 23-year-old Romel Carey in the head at around 12:20 a.m. Wednesday, according to police and sources.
Carey, of Pennsylvania, had repeatedly tried to rob the Top Shelf bodega before he was fatally shot, the worker claimed.
The alleged thief first tried to loot the shop at around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday when he walked in and brandished a firearm, the sources said.
However, the store worker flashed a gun of his own, scaring him off.
Carey returned just 40 minutes later and allegedly tried to rob the establishment a second time, sources told The Post.
At that point, the employee fired his weapon, striking the would-be-robber in the head.
Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene and the staffer, described as “a person of interest,” was taken into custody, police said.
No charges were immediately filed on Wednesday.
