The man accused of fatally shooting Chinese food delivery worker Zhiwen Yan in Queens, New York, in late April was reportedly found to be obsessed with condiments.
Glenn Hirsch, 51, who was arrested and charged on Wednesday, was reportedly involved in a duck sauce dispute with Great Wall, the Forest Hills restaurant Yan worked at. The November 2021 incident led to a series of disturbing encounters with Hirsch, according to owner Kai Yang.
At the time, Hirsch reportedly asked for more duck sauce after already taking an entire bin. Although staff members fulfilled his request, he demanded a refund and called the police when they refused to return his money.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz previously called Hirsch’s demand for duck sauce an “obsessive point of contention.” On Tuesday, a police source told the New York Post that his whole refrigerator was discovered to be filled with duck sauce, calling him a “hoarder.”
“When they were doing their search of the place for the weapons, they looked in the refrigerator, and there were all of these condiments,” the source told the Post. “His whole fridge was filled with duck sauce.”
Hirsch’s refrigerator also contained other condiments such as soy sauce and ketchup, a police source told the New York Daily News. “I guess in some pathology people like that take that stuff very seriously — you didn’t give him enough duck sauce,” said the source.
Hirsch, who has 10 prior arrests, pleaded not guilty to murder, weapon possession, menacing and other charges last Thursday. He remains held without bond.
Yan, who reportedly worked at Great Wall for more than two decades, leaves behind a wife and three young children after the April 30 shooting. Two GoFundMe campaigns were organized to raise funds for his family.
