Shooter arrested in cold-blooded murder in NYC smoke shop, another deadly weekend shooting: cops

A suspect in the cold-blooded murder in a smokehouse in Harlem was arrested early Tuesday morning and linked to another deadly shooting that took place a day earlier in broad daylight, police said.

Messiah Nantwee, 21, last arrested two years ago for shooting Bronx cops who returned fire and seriously wounded him, was tracked down on a tip from CrimeStoppers and detained in connection with a deadly skirmish at a smokehouse on Malcolm X Boulevard Sunday near West. 125th Street, authorities said.

The 36-year-old victim, whose name had not been released by Tuesday morning, was shot in the head after an altercation with Nantwe minutes before 8 p.m., according to NYPD records and a chilling video obtained by The Post.

The footage shows the shooter and the victim arguing for several seconds in front of a group of men.

The victim then turns to leave, but as he heads for the exit, the suspect pulls a gun from his pocket and shoots the victim in the head.

The victim falls to the floor, but is still moving and appears to be trying to get up before the cold-blooded assailant shoots him in the back in cold blood, as seen in the footage.

In the final seconds of the video, the shooter can be seen exiting the store.

The victim was taken to a Harlem hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Nantwi was charged with murder and illegal possession of a weapon in connection with the shooting, authorities said.

He was also linked to a second shooting about half a mile away, which took place around 4:40 p.m. Saturday at Madison Avenue and East 132nd Street, police said.

Jaylen Duncan, 19, was shot in the head and taken to a Harlem hospital where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

Nantwe, himself a Harlem resident, was charged with murder, police said.

The motive for this murder on Tuesday remained unclear.

Police say investigators do not believe Nantwee knew Duncan or the victim of the smokehouse murder.

Nantwee was last arrested in February 2021 on charges of shooting NYPD officers who were trying to arrest him — and an accomplice — for allegedly spray-painting graffiti in the Bronx, authorities said.

“As the officer struggled with the man in an attempt to arrest him, the suspect pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and fired at the police officers at least three times,” NYPD Chief Terence Monahan said at the time.

“It was at this time that all three officers fired back at the man, hitting him multiple times,” Monahan said.

The officers were not injured, but Nantwee was taken to Lincoln Medical Center with injuries that were initially described as critical.

Nantwee recovered and was charged with three counts of attempted murder of a police officer, police said.

Records show that he was initially ordered to be held without bail in connection with the case, but a judge later held him on $500,000 bail.

He declared a “non-plea” of guilt, the tapes show.

The circumstances of his release were not immediately clear.