Former Harlem deli owner killed in stray bullet shooting outside home
By Zinnia Maldonado, Naveen Dhaliwal
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HARLEM, New York (WCBS) — A beloved grandmother and former Harlem deli owner was struck by a stray bullet and killed outside her home Tuesday night.
It happened around 10 p.m. near Lenox Avenue and 113th Street.
1 charged after deadly Harlem shooting, investigation ongoing Police say Excenia Mette, 61, came outside to check on her grandson when she heard gunfire.
“She was actually making dinner for me. The last thing I remember was her being downstairs,” grandson Jarian Jordan said.
According to police, three people were arguing on the street and shots were exchanged. One of the men involved – a 23-year-old – was shot in the foot while a stray bullet struck Mette in the head.
She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“We don’t know yet if this was a gang incident, but we do know that individuals were armed with guns,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “The action of repeated offenders, just last year stabbing two people doing a robbery, is now involved in a shooting that took the life of a working class person here in the city.”
Wednesday afternoon, the scene was still taped off. Evidence – including shell casings, a gun and a scooter – were left on the sidewalk.
Police say Darious Smith, 23, has been arrested and charged with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
Excenia Mette remembered as beloved community leader CBS News New York previously highlighted Mette’s Harlem deli as it was struggling during the pandemic back in 2020. It’s since shut down.
Those who knew her gathered for a vigil not even 24 hours after her death.
“This was a grandmother who lost her life. Innocent,” said Stephanie McGraw, founder and CEO of We All Really Matter. “She was a woman that didn’t just stand by and see something and not say something. She came down because she was a community leader.”
Mette was a member of the National Action Network run by Rev. Al Sharpton.
NAN released a statement reading, in part, “We are deeply saddened and outraged by the tragic and senseless loss of Excenia ‘Zennie’ Mette – a beloved member of our community, a committed advocate, and a cherished part of the NAN family.”
The sidewalk outside Mette’s home was lined with candles in the shape of a “Z,” in honor of her nickname “Mama Z.”
“She treated everyone on this corner like they’re her grandson,” Jordan said.
“It wasn’t just about her grandson. She was running to protect all of the children that she knew out here,” Mette’s siter Diane London said. “She was a pillar. Not only in this community, she’s a pillar of our family.”
Mette’s family has a message for the gunman.
“They’re coming for you, too. Don’t think that you’re going to hide. Don’t. Because the woman that you took out is precious to the savior,” London said.
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