“For a couple of years we had zero gang homicides,” said Bryan Campagna, form the gang unit of the Oceanside Police Department (NY Times). Yet four gang related deaths occurred in the city between December 2010 and July 2011. This year there have been three. This Sunday a suspected gang related death occurred in the cities Crown Heights neighborhood. The victim 17 year old, Antonio Carachuri-Perez was known as “the kid who sold flowers and homemade ice-cream. (NY Times)” Police officials say his death was gang related, but the people who knew him said he was not a gang member. “He was a good boy. He didn’t have trouble with anybody,” said his mother, Maria Perez, 37, (NY Times). Tony’s cousin Daisy said “All the family knows is that Tony and some of his male cousins were hanging out on the porch when someone walking by the house shot him,” (NY Times).The fact that the cousin were on the porch at two in the morning; seems to be why some suspect this death was gang related. Although teachers and classmates at Tony’s former school, Oceanside High, say, he was a good kid. “If I ever asked him to do anything for me he would do it with no questions asked,” were the words of Tony’s English teacher Toni Chaney. Tony’s aunt and mother have not stopped mourning his death, and demand justice. “I don’t know why they did this to him. I told the detectives to do something about it. My son wasn’t bad. He didn’t deserve this. I want justice,” said his mother. “We want justice! He was innocent. We don’t know why it happened. He was inside the property. There’s never justice around this area, we want justice for him,” said Antonio’s aunt Roberta Perez; this Monday.
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