Homeless boy, 15, charged with stabbing two men, killing one, is migrant from Guatemala: NYPD
The 15-year-old boy charged with stabbing two men — one of them fatally — in a crime-ridden Lower East Side park is a “new arrival” from Guatemala who lashed out during an argument in a homeless encampment, police officials said Tuesday.
The teenage murder suspect, who has not been publicly identified because he is a minor, got to the US within the past year alone, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters, adding that cops were trying to track down the youngster’s family.
The boy, who is homeless, was arrested Saturday and faces counts of murder and attempted murder in connection with the deadly stabbing at Sara D. Roosevelt Park at Hester and Chrystie Streets last week.
Witnesses told police the teen and the victims — two homeless men identified as Alonzo Pasquale, 25, and Alonzo Lucas, 29 — were at the encampment in the park, where some people were playing cards or “hanging out,” at around 11 p.m. on Nov. 16, according to Kenny.
An argument suddenly broke out and quickly turned physical, with witnesses claiming that they saw the teen fighting with Pasquale and swinging what later turned out to be a knife at him and Lucas, the chief said.
“[Pasquale] is stabbed. He goes to the ground,” Kenny told reporters. “Alonzo Lucas tries to intervene and he’s knocked to the ground and kicked in the head by the 15-year-old.”
Both men suffered stab wounds to the chest.
Pasquale died from his injuries before paramedics arrived, while Lucas was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
Kenny said the bloodshed stemmed from “an argument in the park,” but did not specify what the dispute was about, or whether the three men knew one another before the fight.
Detectives were able to pick the suspect out from a surveillance video based on witness descriptions of what he had been wearing, Kenny said.
Cops found the 15-year-old nearby wearing the same clothes as in the footage and arrested him, the chief added.
Two people who saw the stabbing identified the Guatemalan migrant as the person who was swinging the knife, according to Kenny.
Prosecutors will determine whether the teen will be charged as an adult, he said.
Kenny noted that the area has been rife with crime lately.
“That park this year, including this homicide, has had four robberies, 11 felony assaults and 26 misdemeanor assaults,” Kenny said, adding that a “homeless community” has been known to stay in the green space.
“Some of them are recent arrivals, possibly migrants,” he said.
Additional reporting by Tina Moore
