SYRACUSE, NY -- A Syracuse man is wanted in connection with the fatal Oct. 1 shooting death of the owner of a city pizza shop.

Eric Woody, 24, being sought by police in an Oct. 1 shooting death in Syracuse.

Eric Woody

Eric Woody, 24, whose last known address is 500 Rowland St., should be considered armed and dangerous, police said at a press conference Tuesday. A warrant has been issued for Woody's arrest.

Police are asking for the public's help in finding Woody. He was once arrested in Jefferson County, they said. Woody has a tattoo on his right arm that reads "OG Eric."

He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and weights 149 pounds, police said.

Shqair Shqair, 38, the owner of Sabatino's Pizza & Deli at 121 Ballantyne Road, was gunned down on Oct. 1.

Shqair Shqair, left, was gunned down by a robber at his pizza shop in Syracuse at 1 a.m. Oct. 1. He's shown with his son, Mahoud.

A man entered the store and demanded money from Shqair shortly after 1 a.m., police said. When Shqair tried to negotiate with him, the robber shot him and ran out of the store, police said.

The robber didn't take any money. Shqair was transported to Upstate University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Woody is suspected to be a member of the Bloods gang, but the shooting does not appear to have been gang-related, according to police. The robbery was captured on the store's surveillance camera, police said.

"We have a rock solid case," Police Chief Frank Fowler said.

Woody was arrested last year on charges of criminal possession of a weapon, harassment and menacing, police said. In July of this year, he was charged with harassment and marijuana possession.

In last year's case, Woody pleaded guilty to menacing, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced in May 2012 to 10 months in jail, according to City Court records.

In 2006, Woody was charged in Jefferson County with an illegal weapons charge in connection with a shooting, police said.

Shqair had a wife and five children.



Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 315-470-2187.

Reporter Douglass Dowty contributed to this story.