Police in the Bronx are investigating the response of multiple officers in the area following the fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz last week, a police source said.
Officers responding to a different call were flagged down by civilians and directed to the victim, and an ambulance arrived just over one minute later, according to an NYPD statement. There have been no complaints filed regarding the response to the incident.
The probe is being handled by the Bronx Borough command — not by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau. It wasn’t immediately clear how many officers were being investigated.
Guzman-Feliz, known as “Junior,” was fatally stabbed in the neck on June 20 after being dragged from a bodega in the Belmont section of the Bronx in a case of mistaken identity. He was able to run to a nearby hospital, but collapsed and did not survive.
Eight men, some of whom are alleged members of the Dominican gang Trinitarios, have been arrested in connection to the murder.
On Sunday Kevin Alvarez, 19, of the Bronx, was arrested in the city and charged with murder, manslaughter, gang assault and assault, and on Tuesday Elvin Garcia, 23, of Manhattan, was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
On Wednesday, the six suspects taken into custody in Paterson, New Jersey, were brought to New York and charged with varying offenses. Joniki Martinez, 24, of Freeport, New York; Jose Muniz, 21, of Paterson; and Antonio Hernandez-Santiago, 24, of the Bronx, were charged with several offenses, including first-degree murder, manslaughter, and gang assault, police said. Charges against Danel Fernandez, 21, of the Bronx, Manuel Rivera, 18, of the Bronx, and Jose Taverez, 21, of the Bronx, included second-degree murder, manslaughter and gang assault.
The death of Guzman-Feliz sparked outrage throughout the city, as well as from NYPD brass and celebrities. Many used the hashtag #JusticeFor Junior on social media to voice their anger.
