On December 8, 1995, eight people, including the assailant, were killed when a gunman seized hostages at Freddy's[a] Fashion Mart in Harlem, New York City, and set the building on fire.
[2][3] In 1995 a black Pentecostal Church, the United House of Prayer, which owned a retail property on 125th Street across from the Apollo Theatre, asked Fred Harari [source?
African-American activist Al Sharpton led protests outside the Harlem store over several weeks against both the planned eviction of The Record Shack, and because Freddie's did not employ any Black workers.
At 12:07 p.m., firefighters had contained the blaze, and entered the burned-out building to discover seven store employees had died of smoke inhalation, and the gunman had fatally shot himself.
[12] The only fire escape had been bricked up (this was not a violation at the time, as long as a working sprinkler system was provided), so the only exit for those trapped meant passing the gunman.