A manager at a Manhattan pizzeria was clinging to life after he was pummeled by a customer and mauled by the attacker’s pit bull during a quarrel over the dog being unleashed, police said Tuesday.
The victim was working the counter at Roma Pizza in the Flatiron District when he got into an argument with 35-year-old Tyshaun Watson, who entered with the unleashed dog about 9:55 p.m. Monday, cops said.
“I’m very sorry for the victim,” Watson said to reporters as he was walked out of the 13th Precinct stationhouse Tuesday afternoon. Watson’s left arm was wrapped in a bloody bandage, the result of being bitten by his own dog, said police.
The pizzeria’s daytime manager, who did not provide his name, said the victim had told Watson dogs were not allowed to be unleashed or inside the shop by order of the Health Department, and then Watson lost his temper.
“He just didn’t like the way he was talking to him, and he started yelling at him, cursing at him,” said the daytime manager.
Watson came behind the counter of the eatery on Fifth Ave. near W. 19th St., and began to punch the victim and a co-worker who intervened, said fellow employees.
As the clash escalated, the pit bull attacked the manager, and the fight spilled out onto the street, said co-workers.
“[The victim] tried to get up and run away, but [Watson] still grabbed him and slammed him,” said the daytime manager. “That guy just stomped him, kicked him very hard in the head.”
“He did it two more times. He kicked [him] three times. Like, almost like he wanted to kill him,” said the daytime manager, who added that Watson took his dog back into the shop.
“He didn’t even run. He just stayed inside, waiting for the police, calming the dog down,” said the manager.
Kitchen workers came out from the back to help the victim, leaving Watson and the dog inside, according to a worker who gave his name as Eli.
“The boys locked [the] doors from both sides,” said Eli, 33. “[Watson] was alone inside with his dog.”
Cops found the manager on the ground suffering from multiple dog bites, NYPD officials said.
Medics rushed him to Bellevue Hospital, where he remains in critical condition and needed to be intubated, police sources said. The victim’s wounds were mostly inflicted by the owner and not the dog, sources added.
“He’s a very nice guy. He never bothered anybody,” said the daytime manager of the victim. “Everybody likes him. The whole neighborhood likes him.”
Watson, of Secaucus, N.J., was arrested inside the pizzeria, said workers. He is charged with attempted murder and assault, police said.
Watson posted several videos on social media over the past several days of him and his dog, a black pit bull named Dior, walking in New York.
“Peaceful walks,” one video of Watson and Dior walking past 1 Police Plaza posted Sunday was captioned.
On Aug. 6, Watson posted another video of Dior at the end of a leash on a city street interacting with a couple and their dog.
“I can always tell from a distance people are preparing for the worst. But they end up loving him when they find out he’s friendly,” Watson wrote above the video.
The dog was not hurt and was brought to Animal Care Centers of NYC where he is undergoing a 10-day rabies observation hold.
With Barry Williams
Source Agencies
