The Yemeni American Merchants Association said it would hold a candlelight vigil on Thursday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. to honor Abdul Saleh, a 28-year-old bodega worker the group said was fatally shot outside his family's East Village store the prior weekend. Independent outlets reported that Saleh was fatally shot Saturday night outside his family's deli at Avenue B and East 13th Street.
According to a media advisory from the association, known as YAMA, the gathering was set for 216 Avenue B and was expected to draw community leaders, elected officials, local merchants, residents, clergy, advocates and supporters in mourning and solidarity with Saleh's family. The advisory said the vigil would also draw attention to what the group described as growing concerns over violence affecting neighborhood retail workers and immigrant-owned small businesses across the city. A large crowd gathered for the candlelight vigil in the East Village on Thursday.
The association said Saleh was remembered by those who knew him as kind, hardworking and deeply devoted to his family, and that his death had shaken many New Yorkers, particularly small business owners and workers who saw themselves in his story.
"Abdul Saleh was a young man working to support his family and serve his community," the association said in the advisory. "We are gathering to honor his life, stand beside his loved ones, and make clear that violence against working people cannot become accepted in our city."
YAMA listed Dr. Debbie Almontaser, vice president of its board of directors, and Amr Abozaid, its director of small business services, as contacts for the event. In follow-up coverage, the alleged gunman who shot Saleh was charged with murder.
