A group of good Samaritans acted quickly to prevent another child from suffering the same fate as slain Bronx teen Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz.
Brooklyn bodega owner Vincent Millan only had a bike seat in his possession on Thursday when he approached five men who were chasing a teen during an attempted robbery. The unidentified 17-year-old was sitting on his moped outside of the shop when he was approached by the men.
The group was armed with knives and metal rods, reminiscent of the fatal assault of Guzman-Feliz. The young aspiring police officer died last year after he was hacked to death by a group of men brandishing machetes outside a bodega. The men erroneously thought the 15-year-old was a rival gang member. Modesto Cruz, the owner of that bodega, was heavily criticized for not helping Junior.
The late teen was on Millan’s mind as he witnessed the violence in front of his business.
“That flashed in my head when it happened,” Millan told the New York Daily News. “I said, ‘Nah, you’re not coming in here to do what you did up in the Bronx.’”
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Milan only carried a bike seat as he approached the four assailants while customers and his employees barricaded the bodega’s entrance.
“I figured the door isn’t going to hold for much longer so I came outside and said, ‘What the f**k are you guys doing?’” Millan said. “And right away, they started circling me. I had my bike seat in my hands. They’re breaking bats over my head, my face, hitting me in my face with I don’t know how many objects.”
Millan had to get eight stitches in his head, but he has no regrets.
“I don’t regret stopping them from getting their hands on that kid, I’m a human being, human beings should not be treating each other like this,” he told PIX11.
The teenager’s moped was stolen, but he was not seriously harmed. A total of six men were involved, and two have been arrested. A 16-year-old was charged with assault, possession of stolen property, possession of marijuana and driving the wrong way. Ramon Garcia-Disla, 26, was charged with robbery, gang assault and assault.
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