Thousands Expected at Funeral for NYC Boy in Machete Attack

What to Know

• 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz will be laid to rest Wednesday during his funeral at a church in the Bronx[hhmc]

• The final goodbyes come a day after authorities made an eighth person has been arrested in connection with the deadly stabbing[hhmc]

• The teenager, known as Junior, was stabbed in the neck with a machete in front of a Bronx bodega last week[hhmc]

The 15-year-old boy killed in the machete attack outside a busy Bronx bodega last week will be laid to rest Wednesday, a day after an eighth arrest in the case that has drawn national attention for its caught-on-camera brutality.

The funeral for Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, who dreamed of being a police officer and was affectionately known as Junior, will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel at 9:30 a.m. Thousands of people are expected to attend.

The horrifying attack on Guzman-Feliz was captured on video; he was dragged outside the bodega and set upon by a gang of men who hacked at him as he struggled to defend himself. The boy was slashed in the neck and died after running to a hospital three blocks away.

Family members say it was a case of mistaken identity.

Extradition Hearing for Suspects in Bronx Murder

Authorities said Tuesday that the eighth person arrested, 23-year-old Elvin Garcia, a Bronx resident, was charged with murder and manslaughter, among other crimes, in connection with the killing.

Six other suspects were arrested in New Jersey and have agreed to be extradited to New York City to face charges in the case, though the specific nature of those charges wasn't immediately clear.

These suspects, men between the ages of 18 and 24 from the Bronx, Long Island, and Paterson, New Jersey, appeared in a New Jersey courtroom Tuesday. One of the suspects hung his head the entire time, unwilling to look up as the judge spoke to him. The others listened quietly through their hearings, stonefaced apart from at least one apparent sneer, responding "sí" or "yes" to questions.

During the press conference, Clark said these six suspects will face charges of murder, manslaughter, gang assault and assault. They will be arraigned Wednesday, Clark said.

The six suspects will be assigned new attorneys once they get to the Bronx. A defense attorney who had represented one of the suspects said Tuesday the men and their families are receiving death threats over the case.

"This case has been all over the news, and their families are all being threatened, children," said Passaic public defender Judy Fallon. "I would ask everyone to please let the system run its course."

A seventh man who is 19 has already been arraigned on murder and other charges in the boy's death.

Authorities said the killing may have been linked to the Trinitarios gang. And the NYPD's chief of detectives said he wanted to send out a clear message that authorities "will not tolerate thugs on the street of the Bronx, whether it's Trinitarios or any other gang."

It's not clear if police are looking for additional suspects in the case.

Meanwhile, a memorial has taken over the sidewalk outside the bodega where the boy, who had been part of the NYPD's Law Enforcement Explorers program was killed. It's filled with candles, signs and flowers mourning the teenager affectionately known as "Junior."

Celebrities including Cardi B and Rihanna have taken to social media to express their sorrow over the boy's killing; former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony and wife Lala went to the family's Bronx home when they heard Junior was a fan.

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USA Today

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