QUEENS — The 16-year-old boy was shot in the face because he belonged to the "wrong" gang, police officials said.
The victim was punched and kicked numerous times on Oct. 23 by three man, before one of them shot him in the face around 2 a.m. on 90th Avenue, between 179th street and 179th Place, across the street from P.S. 95 in Jamaica, officials said.
The injury left the teen, whose name has not been released, paralyzed from the neck down, according to local police officials.
Authorities said that the victim, who was born in El Salvador, was attacked because he belonged to M-18, a multi-ethnic gang that has a stronghold in Hempstead, Long Island.
Police said the suspects, who also came from Central America, shot him because they believed he should belong to MS-13, a rival gang with roots in Los Angeles and El Salvador.
“Some kids affiliated with MS-13 knew that he was from El Salvador and that he was M-18,” said Inspector John Cappelmann, commanding officer of the 103rd Precinct, at a recent community council meeting. “And they took offense to that because they felt he should be MS-13.”
Police have since arrested one of the suspects, Jose Gonzalez, 18, in connection with the incident.
Two other suspects, including the man who shot the victim, remain at large, police said.
Cappelmann also said that the gunman was trying to fire at the victim the second time, but “the gun jammed.”
“Otherwise, he would have been killed,” he said.
