Brooklyn bartender stabbed by ex-con over fight about dogs

A dogfight turned into a bloody brawl between their owners outside a popular Brooklyn bar early Thursday, leaving a bartender dead and an ex-con under arrest, reports said

The fight happened about 2:15 a.m. outside Branded Saloon on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights. Off-duty bartender Chai Eun Hillman and Daniel Pagan, who served time for killing a man in the 1990s, got into a tussle after their dogs clashed outside.

The fight escalated after Pagan thought Hillman, a former karate instructor turned actor, pushed his female companion, and Pagan allegedly stabbed him with a knife, reports said.

Fellow employee Dan Hultquist, tried to break up the fight, but was slashed in the neck. He was also taken to Kings and was treated and reportedly released.

Pagan, 36, was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Hillman, 42, was taken to Kings County Hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.

Calls to the bar went unanswered, but it posted a message on its Facebook page.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and co-worker,” it said. “We ask that you keep Chai and Daniel’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.”

The stabbing shocked locals, who say the neighborhood has been on the rise.

“I’m shocked at this. The area is nice, ” said one bar owner who declined to be named. “It’s the best neighborhood in Brooklyn.”