An employee at a CVS store in Manhattan is facing murder charges after police say he stabbed an alleged serial shoplifter to death this week.
The fatal encounter happened Thursday, just after midnight, outside the chain's Times Square location on Broadway and 49th Street.
Scott Enoe, a security guard at the store, tried to stop the man from stealing, police said. The two men got into a scuffle and at one point Enoe stabbed the man.
Sources said Enoe tried to stop the would-be thief from stealing Gatorade, and a container of creamer.
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Enoe's mother told the Daily News the other man started the fight, and her son was acting in self-defense.
“The guy came in and started arguing with Scotty. Next thing you know, Scotty was on the ground. He acted in self-defense,” Lucille Enoe told the outlet. “When the guy threw him down and started beating him up, Scotty stabbed him.”
Police sources say the accused shoplifter, not yet identified by officials, has been arrested 18 times just this year for burglary and petit larceny.
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Enoe, of Brooklyn, has been charged with murder and weapons possession.
The stabbing comes as shoplifting in this part of Manhattan continues to be a problem. Petit larceny is up more than 14% this year over 2022, and more than 50% compared to the same period in 2021.