Overview

• On August 1, Diego Sandoval Nava, 33, was stabbed in East New York after he refused to sell a single cigarette to a customer who believed he was a police officer.
• Witnesses said the suspect hurled a credit-card machine at Nava, threatened him, and fled after the fatal scuffle outside the deli.
• The suspect, described as wearing dark glasses and a striped shirt, remains at large as the NYPD continues its manhunt.
• Friends and coworkers recalled Nava as a devoted father of three and a generous employee who often covered purchases for customers in need.
• City officials announced plans to install panic buttons in 500 bodegas last spring, but implementation delays have left many frontline workers without emergency alerts.