Overview

• Police said Gerry Hill, 59, suffered fatal head trauma after a confrontation inside Royal Deli & Grill on Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick.
• Two employees who were detained for questioning are being released without charges while detectives continue the case, according to police sources.
• United Bodegas of America calls the encounter self-defense and cites Hill’s history of prior arrests as it urges Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez to dismiss the case, and prosecutors have not commented.
• Reports differ on whether Hill collapsed near the store or at home, and investigators have not publicly detailed the sequence of events.
• United Bodegas says it is rapidly installing panic buttons in hundreds of shops, an effort officials have supported to improve worker safety.