The men remain at large, and police "certainly consider them to be dangerous," police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
The bodega owner, Bolivar Cruz, was shot in the face Monday night after being confronted by two armed men inside his business in Queens. Cruz, 56, had pulled a handgun in defense but never got off a shot, police said.
Witnesses said the bandits fled in a red car with Florida license plates. Cruz was hospitalized in critical condition.
Investigators believe the shooting came only 10 minutes after the robbers held up a neighborhood market a short distance away.
Working in teams of two or three, the bandits first struck on March 17, police said. They apparently struck 14 more times before Monday, all in Queens, shooting one victim in the leg and beating another. In one instance, they made off with $2,000.
