Thousands attended the wake of the 15-year-old boy who was brutally beaten and stabbed to death by a gang of men outside of a Bronx bodega last week, in what police are saying is a case of mistaken identity regarding a sex tape.
Family, friends and strangers gathered to mourn Lesandro ‘Junior’ Guzman-Feliz Monday as the innocent teen’s mother Leandra Feliz wore a t-shirt with her son’s face on it and thanked everyone for attending, saying that her ‘heart is broken’.
‘He was a sweet kid with a very good heart,’ she said to the throngs of mourners who wrapped around two blocks as she and his father held a sign that read ‘Save our Streets’ ‘#JusticeforJunior’ and ‘#StoptheViolence’.
The service comes as new surveillance video from inside the bodega reveals the bloodied teen returned to the store he was originally dragged from and begged for help but was kicked out by employees.
The slain 15-year-old’s parents Leandra Feliz and Lisandro Guzman are pictured at their son’s wake and speak to the crowd of thousands gathered outside
Mourners grieve at Lesandro Guzman-Feliz’s wake in the Bronx , New York
Thousands attended the wake for The 15-year-old who dreamed of becoming a police detective one day
Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, 15, who was beaten and stabbed to death outside a Bronx bodega Wednesday
New video has emerged showing the teen being kicked out of the store he was first dragged from as he begged for help
The latest video shows Guzman-Feliz frantically stumble into the bodega in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx and lay across the counter.
Two men, one behind the counter and another behind the teen, point for him to exit the store.
He stays only for five seconds before running out and fleeing to the hospital just a block down the street.
He was pronounced dead at the medical center’s entrance.
Other surveillance videos have emerged, both from inside and outside of the bodega, which show the moment the teen was dragged out of the store by gang members before being stabbed to death.
His father, Lisandro Guzman, showed his new tattoo in honor of his late son
The tragic footage has shocked the internet and sparked protest against gang violence.
The crowd at Monday’s wake outside of R.G. Ortiz Funeral Home chanted ‘Justice for Junior’ and ‘Close the Bodega Down’ as others held a candle lit vigil outside of the bodega.
‘I want to say thank you to everyone. The police are doing a great job with the arrests and I hope that they continue to go to the end and find all of the people who were involved,’ his mother told the crowd.
His father, Lisandro Guzman, spoke out his son’s dream to become a police officer.
‘I need justice for my son. That’s my Junior baby,’ Guzman said while showing his new tattoo on his left hand – of a picture of his son’s face with the letters RIP written below.
The family may be getting the justice their seeking as a seventh man was arrested Monday.
Kevin Alvarez, 19, was arrested for murder, gang assault and manslaughter along with six other men who are expected to appear in front of a judge on Tuesday to be expedited to New York State to face charges in the teen’s death.
Those men include 21-year-old Jose Muniz of Paterson, New Jersey; 21-year-old Jose Taverez, 18-year-old Manuel Rivera, 21-year-old Danel Fernandez, and 24-year-old Santiago Rodriguez of the Bronx; and 24-year-old Joniki Martinez of Freeport, New York.
Local authorities arrested the six men after raiding a local home known as a hangout spot for the Dominican gang Trinitarios suspected in the murder, around 2pm on Sunday.
Mourners have a moment of silence during a prayer by Rev. Robert Rice, a clergy liaison with the 30th Precinct outside
The scene outside of the bodego where Lesandro Guzman-Feliz was killed
People left candles and other mementos at a memorial in front of the bodega where he was killed
Lesandro’s mother wore a t-shirt with her son’s face on it as they addressed the crowd
A florist delivers flowers to the service that saw lines around the block
NYPD Police Commissioner James O’ Neil, left, talks to NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea, outside of the wake
Strangers, friends and families came to mourn the teen who longed to be a cop
The frenzied attack took place outside Zesarina Grocery located on East 183rd Street in the Belmont section.
Police said the killing was ‘a case of mistaken identity over a sex tape’ as Guzman-Feliz became involved in a dispute that turned fatal with the group of men.
The young girl in the sex video that promoted the murder has now been receiving threatening messages on social media, according to police.
The New York Post reported that the 15-year-old girl is under NYPD police protection after receiving messages on Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, referring to her as a ‘whore’ and blaming her for Guzman-Feliz’s death.
The girl was also enrolled in the NYPD Explorers program with the murdered teen.
Police believe that the victim resembles a young man who raps in a video that shows the girl having sex in the background – and she is believed to be related to members of the Trinitarios gang.
Video posted by Facebook user Riichy Rich Friday shows the pack of men forcibly dragging Guzman-Feliz by the hood of his jacket out of the bodega and frantically stabbing and slashing him with a machete before fleeing on foot.
After a few seconds, Guzman-Feliz was seen standing on the street corner with blood pouring from a wound in his neck.
He then was seen running across the street, heading towards the nearby St Barnabas Hospital.
According to police, the mortally wounded boy never reached the hospital and collapsed a block away.
Kevin Alvarez, 19, appears at his arraignment and is charged with murder in the 2nd degree in the killing of Guzman-Feliz
Video surfaced showing the moment that 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman- Feliz was dragged out of a Bronx bodega last week before being beaten and stabbed to death by a group of men associated with a Dominican gang
Another extremely graphic video posted on social media by a different user, shows Guzman-Feliz drenched in blood from head to toe, sitting on the sidewalk with his back against the wall.
A woman then tries to apply pressure to his neck before police officers and paramedics surround him. Guzman-Feliz succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Officers said with his dying breath, the 15-year-old asked for some water, according to ABC 7 New York.
Investigators said he had told his mother he was going to the bodega a block away from his house to either repay a debt, or lend $5 to a friend. He never made it home that night.
The victim’s sister, Genesis Collado-Feliz, 17, said her younger brother loved playing video games and would come to her for advice about girls.
She said Lesandro had recently become friends with a group of older boys, but she insisted he was not in a gang.
‘He tried to run into the store because he thought he’d be safe. They dragged him from the store like a dog,’ Collado-Feliz told the New York Post. ‘They were grown men and he was only 15.’
Bronx-born rapper Cardi B also made a donation of $8,000 under her given name Belcalis Almanzar.
The singer took to her Instagram page over the weekend to express anger over the senseless killing, writing in part: ‘R.I.P. These Bronx streets are ruthless.’
After the attackers fled, the mortally wounded boy got up, with blood pouring from a wound on his neck
Surveillance video shows a group of suspects dragging Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, 15, out of a bodega in The Bronx on Wednesday night
Bronx-born rapper Cardi B posted this photo of the victim in the hospital. She made a donation of $8,000 to the family’s GoFundMe page