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3 Teens Arrested for Staten Island Paintball Attacks, Police Say

By Nicholas Rizzi | July 20, 2015 1:49pm
 Three teens were arrested for allegedly shooting several people on Staten Island with paintballs, including Renee Mafaro who was hit in the leg.
Three teens were arrested for allegedly shooting several people on Staten Island with paintballs, including Renee Mafaro who was hit in the leg.
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Facebook/Renee Mafaro

WESTERLEIGH — Police arrested three teenagers they say shot six people with paintball guns on Staten Island.

Nicholas Barranco, 18, and Andrew Larstanna, 17, were arrested Saturday for the attacks, and Christopher Motola, 17, turned himself in to the 121st Precinct on Monday, police said.

On July 10 and July 11, Barranco drove a car with three other friends who randomly targeted six people around Westerleigh and shot them with paintballs in the shoulder, thighs, ear, hip and legs, prosecutors said.

"The targets were all random and I never saw any of the targets or knew any of them," Barranco told police, according to court papers. "The people that were targets never had any reason to be attacked. Race, religion or [affiliation] never came into account."

Police said the group was charged for the June 10 attack on a 67-year-old Orthodox Jewish man who was hit with a paintball on Westwood Avenue. It was not deemed a hate crime.

Larstanna told police that they did the "childish stunt" for fun, prosecutors said.

"We are teens and the thing we do for fun is stupid but that doesn't mean it's right," he told police, according to court papers.

Renee Mafaro, 45, who was shot by the teens on July 10, said it was not a "harmless prank" and worried the paintballs could've killed her brother's dog, which she was walking that night.

"I thought I was getting killed," Mafaro previously told DNAinfo New York. "Every time I look at [the bruise], I get such anxiety thinking about it because they could have killed that dog."

Barranco and Larstanna were charged with assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon at their arraignment Sunday, according to the Staten Island District Attorney's office.

Motola was charged by police with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. He was scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.

Motola is due to be arraigned on Monday, the DA said.