According to police and prosecutors, a 14-year-old boy was killed by a teenage gang at a playground in the Bronx. The incident took place in the Williamsbridge Oval Playground in Norwood, where Angel Mendoza, a ninth grader, reportedly jumped into a conflict that wasn’t his own, aiming to defend friends involved in a previous fight.
Witnesses captured footage showing one of the assailants hitting Mendoza in the face with a gun, followed by multiple blows to his head and body. As sources indicated, he was then stabbed once in the chest and once in the abdomen; it’s unclear whether the attackers filmed the violence or if it was bystanders taking videos.
A local youth suggested that Mendoza might have been an unintended victim, simply caught up because he was friends with two teens who had clashed with the gang shortly before the incident. It’s believed Mendoza had no direct involvement in that earlier confrontation.
Responding officers arrived at the scene around 7:30 PM and found Mendoza in critical condition. He was transported to Jacobi Medical Center but was pronounced dead just before 9 PM. Another teenager, a 17-year-old, was also injured but is in stable condition after being treated at Montefiore Medical Center.
Four suspects—a group of teenagers aged between 15 and 18—have been arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter, assault, and weapons possession. Specific identities of the younger assailants have not been released due to their age. At least one knife and a firearm were retrieved from the playground.
Mendoza lived just a few blocks from the park and was known to be a regular visitor, often playing basketball there with friends.
