(DailyVantage.com) – A 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged with the fatal stabbing of a 13-year-old aboard a city bus last Friday in Staten Island, the New York Times reported.
The suspect, whose name is being withheld, also faces charges of manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.
At a press conference Friday night, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell described the incident as a “tragic, tragic homicide” that was likely gang-related.
The incident took place around 2:30 p.m. aboard a city bus that was traveling on Hylan Boulevard near Littlefield Avenue in Staten Island after an argument erupted between the victim, identified as 13-year-old Syles Ular, and the suspect.
According to Chief Chell, during the argument, a knife was spotted, and the two boys exchanged gang signs.
The suspect stabbed Syles multiple times and fled the bus. After a bystander said the boy had stabbed someone on the bus, a retired NYPD sergeant who was nearby chased after the boy, who got about three blocks away before the sergeant caught up with him. The retired sergeant then held the suspect until police arrived.
Syles Ular was later pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital South.
According to Chief Chell, the fatal stabbing on the bus was only one of several incidents last Friday that involved armed teenagers.
At about noon on Friday, a 16-year-old Brooklyn girl was shot in the ankle while walking to a bus stop. Later in the afternoon, two adjacent Manhattan high schools were placed on lockdown after a 15-year-old student reportedly brought a gun to school. During a search of the school, police recovered two guns and a fake pistol from three separate students.
Additionally, on Friday night, a 17-year-old girl was killed after being shot in the head in a Staten Island apartment.
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