By The newspaper
07 Oct 2023, 01:06 AM EDT
Syles Ular, a 13-year-old boy, died after being stabbed aboard an MTA bus after leaving school in Staten Island yesterday afternoon, and another minor was arrested on suspicion of the attack, apparently caused by gang violence. .
Ular was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital, but could not be saved. “He was the sweetest boy,” he said to Daily News his aunt Ladrina Sheffield, 45 years old. “Her life should not have been taken this way… This was simply senseless. “I can’t believe my baby is gone.”
Police suspect the incident, which occurred near the intersection of Littlefield Ave. and Hylan Blvd. in Eltingville, was gang-related. The 14-year-old detainee was Ular’s classmate, according to New YorkPost.
“I can’t believe my baby is gone.”
The confrontation began on the bus around 2:30 p.m. Syles had an argument with his 14-year-old alleged attacker, and perhaps with other youths, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference.
The suspect “took a knife out of his pocket, grabbed it and stabbed him,” said an unidentified 15-year-old. “They were fighting back and forth. Over and over again, he kept stabbing him… I saw him take out the knife and I thought it was a toy. “When I saw him stabbing, I knew it was real… It was bad, really bad.”
The suspect got off the bus and ran, and the 15-year-old witness approached Syles. “I said one word to him… He yelled, ‘Someone call the police! I can’t breathe!’ He then he sat down.”
Chell said a retired NYPD sergeant and a state Department of Environmental Conservation officer were in the area. A witness at the scene pointed out the suspect and they helped take him into custody.
Michael Tambasco, 44, who lives in the area, said the inside of the bus where the fight broke out was “covered in blood.”
“The police did not wait for an ambulance. The police put him in their unmarked black truck,” he added.
Family members said Syles was a student at Staten Island IS 7 and was riding the bus on his way home from school in Huguenot to Park Hill in Clifton.
Those prosecuted are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Young people are protagonists in armed violence in New York as victims and perpetrators, particularly shootings and attacks with knives. In September 2022 an NYPD report found that recidivism among teenagers had increased dramatically over the past five years and the number of gunmen and their underage victims had tripled.
A recent NYPD report warned that fatal stabbings have increased 29% this year in the city compared to before the pandemic (2019). Attacks with knives have become more frequent in various scenarios: streets, buildings, homes, buses, Metro, parties, schools and even commercial establishments and ATM areas.
In a recent survey, the majority of New Yorkers identified crime (73%) among their biggest current concerns. According to another alarming survey released this summer, 70% of NYC residents fear that they will be victims of a criminal act.