Two New Jersey deli workers have been stabbed by an angry customer who was unhappy with a sandwich he had received years ago.
The unnamed man stormed into a New Jersey bakery and sandwich shop at around 8am Thursday morning and slashed two brothers with a box cutter over a sandwich order he says was messed up four years ago.
The bizarre attack went down at Baladna Bakery on Main Street in Paterson when brothers Abed and Mohammad Assad were opening shop for the day.
Surveillance video captured the moment the enraged man burst into the store and confronted a female cashier before ranting on about a years-old hot dog order.
‘He said “she forgot to give me the hot dog.” OK, take the hot dog and $3 and just leave,’ Moneer Simrin, a friend of the victims told NBC4.
‘And he’s like “No, because I got a sandwich last time and they gave me some eggplant and I don’t like eggplant.” He’s just looking for a problem,’ she added.
The brothers tried to calm the man down and even offered store credit.
Two New Jersey deli workers have been stabbed by an angry customer over a years-old sandwich topping feud. The attack went down at Baladna Bakery (pictured) on Main Street in Paterson when brothers Abed and Mohammad Assad were opening shop for the day
Photos show Assad with his arm wrapped in thick white bandages from elbow to wrist
But the suspect allegedly became enraged, and that’s when he pulled out a box cutter.
‘They tried to tell him “Just leave, please.” And he got the knife,’ Simrin said.
The man allegedly slashed Abed Assad in the chest and Mohammad on his hand and arm before running off.
Graphic footage from a neighboring insurance business shows the suspect fleeing the shop.
Photos show Assad with his arm wrapped in thick white bandages from elbow to wrist.
He told NBC New York he recognized the attacker from four years ago and said the man had even come by the bakery earlier in the week asking for them by name.
According to Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, the man was upset because he had received an eggplant sandwich instead of his egg sandwich he supposedly had ordered four years ago.
‘They’re concerned,’ Sayegh told CBS. ‘This type of thing does not happen in that area.’
‘I tried to assuage some of the fears, allay their concerns and reassure them that the police department is completely focused on bringing whomever is responsible for this tragic, violent incident to justice,’ he added.
The two victims were taken to Saint Joseph’s University Hospital and were released on Friday.
Police are still looking for the suspect.
