Suspected gang violence darkens start of school year for New York community
(FOX)- Violent gang members are suspected of killing at least four high school teenagers in one suburban New York community in the last month, kicking off a distressing start to the new school year.
The school year at Brentwood High School on Long Island has started with funerals, fear and frustrations as the students have been victims of the suspected gang violence.
On Sept. 13, the day before her 16th birthday, Nisa Mickens’ brutally beaten body was found on a tree-lined street in Brentwood. A day later, the beaten body of her lifelong friend, 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, was discovered in the wooded backyard of a nearby home. The teenagers had been inseparable and shared an interest in basketball.
Days later, police discovered the skeletal remains of 19-year-old Oscar Acosta and 15-year-old Miguel Garcia-Moran in a remote industrial area of the town. Acosta had been missing since May, and Garcia-Moran vanished in February.
Students have expressed fears of walking alone in their community and school officials have warned them about wearing clothing that could offend potential gang members.
One Brentwood teen who wouldn’t give his name, saying he feared gang retaliation, said many students are nervous.
“They don’t play around. If they don’t like you and if you do something to them, they will come after you,” he said. “I’m not going to walk anywhere. We’re definitely more cautious about that. I don’t go out at night anymore.”
A law enforcement source told the Associated Press that the notorious Salvadoran gang MS-13 is suspected of committing the unspeakable horrors. Police haven’t made any arrests.
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