Video Shows Teen Being Dragged from NY Store and Stabbed with Machetes in 'Mistaken Identity' Killing

Chris Harris
Updated
No Sex Tape Link to Teen Killed Outside Bronx Bodega

Five alleged gang members have been arrested in New York and New Jersey in connection with the brutal killing of a 15-year-old boy who was dragged from a Bronx convenience store and attacked with machetes.

A New York Police Department source confirms to PEOPLE Lesandro Guzman-Feliz was killed outside a bodega in the Bronx on June 20, allegedly by members of the Trinitarios street gang, in an attack caught on store surveillance video.

Guzman-Feliz, also known as “Junior,” had aspirations of becoming a policeman. He enrolled in the NYPD’s Explorers program, which guides young people who have expressed interest in law enforcement careers.

The source says two of the suspects were arrested in the Bronx, New York. Three others were apprehended in Paterson, New Jersey.

In the surveillance footage, the suspects follow Guzman-Feliz into the bodega, and grab him. The victim struggles with the men, who start dragging him towards the door. Guzman-Feliz yelled for help, the NYPD source says, and can be seen in video clinging to the door’s frame as the suspects attack him.

Guzman-Feliz was stabbed several times in the neck, according to police.

The suspects allegedly fled in a white car. Guzman-Feliz ran to a nearby hospital and died soon after.

The NYPD source confirms Guzman-Feliz was killed in a case of “mistaken identity,” noting that someone affiliated with the gang contacted the victim’s family through Snapchat, saying they thought he was someone else.

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Kevin Alvarez, 19, of the Bronx, has been charged with second-degree murder and gang assault, but formal charges are still pending against the other four suspects.

Alvarez has not entered a plea and does not have an attorney of record who could comment on his behalf.

On Twitter, the New York City Patrolman’s Benevolent Association said Guzman-Feliz’s death “is proof that we cannot rest or retreat.”

“We will carry on his memory, until the streets are safe for all,” reads the post.

Police ask that those with any information on the murder call 1-800-577-TIPS. Spanish speakers can leave information at 1-888-57-PISTA.