New surveillance footage captures moments leading up to the fatal stabbing in New York City bodega

The footage comes amid continued calls for prosecutors to drop all charges against Jose Alba over the fatal incident

New surveillance footage has captured the moments leading up to the fatal stabbing of a man inside a New York City bodega. The footage has cropped up as calls continue to grow for murder charges to be dropped against the shopkeeper who dealt the deadly blows.

The video reveals 61-year-old Jose Alba attempting to diffuse the escalating situation by telling Austin Simon “I don’t want a problem, papa” as the 37-year-old confronts him behind the counter inside the Bluemoon Convenient Store in Harlem.

Moments later, Mr Simon shoves the bodega worker into some shelves before a struggle breaks out and Mr Alba fatally stabs him.

Mr Alba was charged with second-degree murder and sent to the notorious Rikers Island jail where he was held on $250,000 bond.

Following an outcry from his family and the local community who say he acted in self-defence, his bond was lowered to $50,000 and he was released from prison on Thursday.

The new surveillance footage, obtained by the New York Post, captures the initial interaction between Mr Alba and Mr Simon’s girlfriend that led to the dispute and what the two men said to each other before things turned physical.

The incident unfolded at around 11pm on 1 July when Mr Simon’s girlfriend, who has not been named, tried to buy a bag of chips for her daughter.

In the footage, Mr Alba is seen repeatedly trying to run her electronic benefits card through the machine, but it was declined.

When he tells her the first time that the payment was declined, she is heard asking him: “$3?... Did you put food?”

The woman insists that there is money on the card, saying: “I’m going to call it in front of you and I’m going to let you hear them.”

Mr Alba responds: “OK, mama, let me do it another time. My God.”

“There’s money on there,” she replies.

Footage captures the initial interaction between Jose Alba and Austin Simon’s girlfriend as her card payment is repeatedly denied (New York Post)

The transaction doesn’t work for a second time and the exchange becomes more tense, with some of the interaction inaudible as they speak over one another.

“That’s not my problem. If it’s not working, it’s not working,” he says.

The footage, which has been edited, skips forward to Mr Alba serving other customers, before the woman starts shouting from elsewhere in the store.

During that time, Mr Alba allegedly took the bag of chips from the woman’s daughter but that moment is not seen in the footage.

“You can’t touch my daughter. Don’t snatch that out of my daughter, you f***ing piece of shit,” she shouts.

“I’m gonna bring my n**** down here and he gonna f*** you up. My n**** is gonna come down here right now and f*** you up!”

Mr Alba is heard shouting back: “That’s not my fault, it’s not working. That’s not my fault, it’s not working.”

The 61-year-old continues to serve customers when Mr Simon enters the store and is heard shouting to the bodega worker to “come out, come out”.

“Papa, I don’t want a problem, papa,” Mr Alba tells him.

Footage shows Jose Alba telling Austin Simon he doesn’t want ‘a problem’ before fatal incident (New York Post)

Mr Simon walks past the customer area of the counter and enters the worker’s counter area, saying: “What’s up with you? N**** what is wrong with you?”

A customer at the counter reaches her arm through and tries to get Mr Simon’s attention, in an apparent attempt to calm the situation. Mr Simon’s girlfriend also reappears behind the counter and continues shouting something inaudible.

What happened next – when a struggle broke out and Mr Alba stabbed Mr Simon – was edited from the footage.

Previously-seen footage of the physical altercation shows Mr Simon violently shoving Mr Alba against the shelves, causing him to fall back and land in a chair by the wall.

Mr Simon continues to square up in the shop worker’s face shouting at him before he then grabs Mr Alba by the back of his shirt and pulls him up out of his chair out of the counter area.

At that point, the bodega worker grabs a knife from some shelves and begins to stab Mr Simon. The two men struggle with much of the chaos unfolding off camera.

Footage from a third camera, obtained by the Post, shows the struggle between the two men and Mr Simon’s girlfriend also grabbing Mr Alba in the fight.

Mr Alba is seen repeatedly stabbing Mr Simon as the two men grapple. The woman appears to take her own knife from her purse and stab Mr Alba.

The new video next cuts to the aftermath with Mr Simon lying on the floor behind the counter while his girlfriend screams: “That was over $3. Three f***ing dollars. He snatched something out of my daughter…please help him.”

Mr Alba is seen speaking to a male customer over the counter, saying “they come in here”.

No one appears to be trying to administer medical aid to Mr Simon. Mr Alba is then seen making a call on his phone and an NYPD officer arrives.

Police said that Mr Simon was stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest and was rushed to hospital where he died from his injuries.

Mr Alba was also stabbed twice in each arm by Mr Simon’s girlfriend in the incident, according to Francisco Marte, president of the Bodega and Small Business Group Association.

He was arrested on the scene and was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Following his release on bond, he was forced to hand over his passport, wear an electronic monitor and stay within the five boroughs of New York City.

The DA’s office is facing calls to drop the charges altogether, with Mayor Eric Adams coming out in support of Mr Alba.

“My heart goes out for this hard-working, honest New Yorker that was doing his job in his place of business, where a person came in and went behind the counter and attacked him,” the mayor said on Thursday.

A criminal defense attorney told The Independent it was “unfathomable” that prosecutors charged Mr Alba in the first place under New York’s self-defence laws.