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The hero pizzaman who fought off two knife-wielding muggers as they attempted to rob a woman outside of his Queens slice shop called on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to be removed from office for being soft on crime.
The shop owner, Louie Suljovic, 38 and his father, 68-year-old Cazim Suljovic, were both stabbed as they stepped in and fought off a pair of knife-wielding muggers who were trying to rob a 61-year-old woman in front of the pizzeria on Baxter Avenue near Judge Street in Elmhurst.
While his jurisdiction is in another borough, Louie blamed Bragg’s policies for surging crime in the city.
“In New York City nothing changed, crime kept going up and up. Why? ‘I can do whatever I want because I know I will not get in trouble for it,’” Louie told The Post before a press conference outside of his shop.
“You have men like the DA of Manhattan saying he will not prosecute. What does that tell you? That means he needs to be removed, because he is not going to do his job.” Suljovic, who suffered a collapsed lung in the attack, added.
The father-and-son, crime-fighting duo lept into action Saturday night when they saw the suspects trying to rob the woman in front of the shop, police said.
As they fought off the muggers, Cazim was knifed nine times and Louie suffered a stab wound to the back, about an inch from his spine.
“Overall it just sucks. I don’t feel right. I am struggling to breathe a little bit,” Louie said. His father is still recuperating in the hospital.
Despite the injuries, Louie said he would do it again without hesitation – because he’s a New Yorker.
“Absolutely I would do it again, in a heartbeat. Why would I do it again knowing full well the consequences? That’s the way we are. You can’t change who you are,” he said.
“I’m here to help my neighbors. At night time I can go to sleep easy knowing I did something to help somebody else,” he added.
“I’m not a hero, I’m a New Yorker. New York is not the same no more. There’s no more of that New York strength. We used to take care of our neighbors,” he said.
Police arrested two suspects after the melee Saturday, authorities said.
Robert Whack, 30, and 18-year-old Supreme Gooding were taken into custody over the attack. Both were charged with robbery, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Whack was also found with a large amount of what cops believe was heroin and was hit with a criminal possession of a controlled substance charge, police said.
Additional reporting by Ben Feuerherd
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