The leader of a deadly street gang told grieving relatives of a 15-year-old Bronx teen stabbed in a street that he was “sorry” the gang murdered the wrong person.
“I’m sorry,” a “top leader” of the Trinitarios street gang said in a message, according to Derek Grullon, 19, the boyfriend of the victim’s sister, Genesis.
“I know it doesn’t mean a lot. It wasn’t supposed to be him,” the message continued.
The leader reportedly went on to say in a two-minute Snapchat recording that all the people responsible for the brutal slaying have been kicked out of the gang.
Gang members dragged the teen, Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, out of a Bronx bodega on Wednesday night and allegedly butchered him to death with a machete. Guzman-Feliz bled out in the street near a hospital until he died.
Police say the victim knew the suspects but was not part of the gang. Authorities announced Sunday afternoon that they arrested three men in Paterson, New Jersey, in connection with the murder and NYPD detectives are on their way to extradite the suspects to New York City.
Guzman-Feliz’s murder has gained widespread attention on social media. A GoFundMe page called “Justice for Junior” raised $113,721 as of Sunday afternoon for Guzman-Feliz’s funeral expenses and many people have tweeted their outrage over the murder on the hashtag #JusticeForJunior.