The Tragic Story of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz: A Tale of Wrong Place at Wrong Time

On June 20th, 2018, 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, affectionately called Junior by his family, was enjoying his summer holiday at his home in a small apartment in New York. That night, Junior was playing games in his room while his mother slept in the next room. At around 10 PM, Junior got a text message from his friend Jason, asking him to come over so they could listen to music together. Junior, bored of playing games for a long time, accepted the invitation and left his home at 10.5, as recorded in CCTV footage.

Little did Junior know that this simple decision would cost him his life. As the old saying goes, “wrong place at wrong time”, Junior fell victim to the danger of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, if a girl is out in a deserted area in the middle of the night, there is a 100% chance of something going wrong to her. Junior’s fate was no different.

After leaving his home, Junior went to his friend Jason’s house which was two streets away. The two of them talked, played games and were on the phone for an hour, until Junior said goodbye and headed back home at around 11.30 PM. However, instead of going back home, Junior made a huge mistake by going towards Addam’s place, which was beyond his home and was notorious for dangerous gang activity. It was only after Junior realized the danger he was in that he decided to turn back and go to his apartment.

Unfortunately, it was too late. At the same time, four cars full of gang members were returning from Addam’s place and when they saw Junior walking on the street, the gang members started shouting and teasing him. Fearing for his life, Junior ran into a nearby shop and begged the shopkeeper to help him. However, the shopkeeper, who had seen this happen many times before, thought Junior was planning to steal something and refused to help him. One of the gang members saw Junior enter the shop and alerted the others. They dragged Junior out of the shop and started slashing him with their knives. Junior ran out of the shop bleeding, shouting for help. No one came forward to help him, and instead they started taking videos of him on their phones. In a desperate attempt to save his life, Junior ran towards a hospital nearby, but by the time he reached the entrance, he had already bled out and died there.

The gang responsible for Junior’s death was called Trinitarios, a gang that was started in a New York prison in 1991. In recent years, the gang violence in the area has gone up, and similar incidents have happened many time. However, Junior’s death was unique in the sense that the leader of the gang put up a post on social media apologizing for their mistake, claiming that Junior was mistaken for someone else and killed by accident. He also mentioned that the five gang members responsible for Junior’s death were kicked out of the gang and given a life sentence.

The story of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz is a tragic tale of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As the old saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”, and it is important to take the necessary precautions to avoid being in a dangerous situation. It is also important to be aware of our surroundings and take the necessary precautions to stay safe. If we create a dangerous environment for ourselves, we can easily get stuck in it. Have you ever been in a similar situation? Share your story in the comments section below.