Shocked and outraged at the murder of 14-year-old Ángel Miguel Mendoza Hernández who, as reported, was fatally stabbed in broad daylight in a packed Williamsbridge Oval park in Norwood on Tuesday, Aug. 5, in a violent gang assault, the Norwood community is taking various steps to support the teenager’s grieving family and enhance park security to prevent further tragedies.

 

Given Ángel’s young age, the brutal assault has stirred up memories of the fatal gang murder of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman Feliz in Belmont in 2018, and the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Jaryan Elliot in Belmont in July 2021. Meanwhile, residents have been actively contributing to two GoFundMe pages set-up to support Ángel’s family’s expenses.

 

As reported, police said five juveniles were arrested for possession of a gun and a knife immediately after the incident on Tuesday and four people have since been charged with murder. The defendants are deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law. However, as two people remain unapprehended in connection with the assault, one local youth told Norwood News she and others have vowed to protect themselves, seemingly having lost faith in the police to do so.

 

For more on what the youth had to say, click here. For more on the assault, initial reaction from local elected officials, as well as prior measures proposed by Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) to promote safety in the Oval and other local parks, click here.

Meanwhile, Danielle Herbert Guggenheim, a former District 11 city council candidate who lives in Norwood, said she has been offering her support to the family and has been speaking to local youth in the Oval in recent days in efforts to help them deal with their loss.

 

 

She added, “As a mother, a teacher, a community member, someone who went to [M.S.] 80 this really shakes me to my core. Ángel also went to 80 his friends told me. Also, the young people they will need counseling. This is trauma.”

 

Future of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP) Executive Director Elizabeth Quaranta also shared her reaction, saying FOMP stood heartbroken and outraged. “Parks should be safe spaces for joy, play and connection, especially for our youth,” she said. “This devastating act of violence happened in late daylight and is a wake-up call for our community.”

FOMP works with young people regularly as part of the Summer Youth Engagement Program (SYEP). Quaranta continued, “Our neighborhood is growing with more families and teenagers using our parks, but enforcement has not kept pace. Though Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) officers are stationed inside the recreation center, their limited presence outside leaves too many vulnerable moments unaddressed.”

Click here to read Norwood News’ previous story on Bronx Community Board 7’s prior discussions with NYC Parks, the NYPD, and local elected officials to increase safety in the Oval.

 

Quaranta continued, “We call on NYC Parks, NYPD, the Mayor’s Office, and elected officials to work with local stakeholders to improve safety through smarter deployment of park enforcement, youth-focused outreach, appropriate use of cameras and lighting [and] trauma-informed support services. This tragedy cannot be ignored. We must act.”

 

She concluded, “FOMP remains committed to healing, safety, and ensuring that our parks serve the community with dignity and care. Our hearts are with the affected families.”

 

FOMP also called for more youth engagement & prevention whether through the existing Police Athletic League (PAL) program or through a new Parks-led initiative. “Playgrounds should be hubs for positive engagement,” Quaranta wrote. “When youth see familiar, trusted faces, they are more likely to seek help before situations escalate.”

 

As reported, the NYPD regularly runs the Saturday Night Lights program at various locations throughout The Bronx. The closest center to Norwood according to the latest map is probably 2255 Webster Avenue in Fordham Heights or the Northeast Bronx YMCA at 1250 E 229th Street. However, neither one is really local and sites in the North Bronx are scarce generally.

 

Meanwhile, in terms of a possible prevention of the stabbing, FOMP said one teen in the Oval had said, “The right people weren’t here to stop it; if the right familiar faces were here, they could have talked them out of it.” Quaranta said this was why on-site ambassadors were crucial.

As reported, a young teen who spoke to Norwood News earlier this week said she believes the attack on Ángel was planned and that she had noticed other groups hanging out in the park in the weeks leading up to the incident who she said she did not recognize. As reported, a local resident had previously said that on the day of the stabbing, she had also noticed a group in the park who appeared to be agitating local residents, that the vibe had been weird, and that she had reported it to the Parks department at around 3.30 p.m.

 

Meanwhile, local elected officials including State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, and local Council Member Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11) issued statements on the tragedy in its aftermath, as reported, offering to support Ángel’s family through their loss.

 

The councilman later shared a joint letter (attached) dated Aug. 7 that he, Assemblyman John Zaccaro Jr. (A.D. 80), and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) sent to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch in which they called for “bolstered security measures” for the Oval following what they called Tuesday night’s “horrific stabbing incident.”

 

“More must be done and that includes additional police presence around the park, surveillance, and reporting on the monitoring of the park to the 52nd Precinct,” the councilman said. As reported, the NYPD was seen patrolling the Williamsbridge Oval on Thursday night, Aug 7, at 9.20 p.m. and were heard announcing, “The Parks department is closing. Start making your way to the exits.”

For her part, as reported, on Friday, Aug. 8, speaking on Fox 5’s Good Day NY, the commissioner, in turn, called on New York State to do more to combat the City’s mental health crisis. “We need capacity in our hospitals to care for people suffering from severe mental illness,” Tisch said.  “Our cops bring people to the hospital thousands of times a year who are in mental health distress. They get released two hours later with a sandwich.”

 

She added, “We need to care for these people. New York State needs a different approach in caring for and treating people with mental health issues, and it can’t be the police department always being called to do everything.”

 

Also, in response to news of Ángel’s killing, resident Kerri Ann O’Connor wrote on social media, “This poor child and his family. Cashless bail, raise the age and other laws need to be changed and enforced. Parents of these criminals need to be held accountable too. These heinous crimes are an indirect result of defunding [the] police. The NYPD can only do so much. God help our city.”

As reported, public safety has been a major talking point in the New York City mayoral election race, with former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent in the general election after his Democratic primary loss, continues to allege that Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36) wants to “defund the police,” even though, as reported by Norwood News even before the Democratic primary in June, Mamdani’s position on this topic has evolved.

According to Rivera, one of Mamdani’s surrogates, as reported, the assemblyman wants to allow the police to do their job fighting crime, while simultaneously create a department of community safety staffed by mental health professionals. “We must also invest upstream in our communities by funding programs that provide support to our youth like after school programs and parks,” the senator said.

 

Norwood News had discussed this point on community policing and mental health some years ago with former progressive Democratic State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34). Read that story here.

 

As reported, Mamdani’s proposed approach to the mental health crisis is being tried in California, and according to at least one political commentator, some of the feedback has been that social workers are not necessarily comfortable (understandably) responding to certain crises involving people with mental health issues when such people are also armed. The commentator said because of this, social workers sometimes reportedly end up calling the police for assistance anyway.

 

Of course, this is not always the case, and it’s clear that not all people who have mental health problems are necessarily dangerous. However, there have been some very challenging instances in The Bronx where this has been the case and police have responded, sometimes with tragic consequences, and other times relatively successfully, and without loss of life.

After a 42-year-old Manhattan man armed with an “air gun” was apprehended without incident in the Highbridge section of The Bronx on Tuesday, July 29, a day after an active shooter killed four innocent people, including Bronx Police Officer Didarul Islam of the 47th Precinct, in Midtown Manhattan, we spoke to Bronx resident, Diamond, for her thoughts on police response to incidents involving people with mental health issues.

 

She said in part, “Honestly, I wish they had more mental health professionals, especially for people like me that’s going through a lot of things, and I’m not going to say that I would be one of those (a person who places another person in potential danger).” We asked if she was in favor of more mental health support for everyone across the board.

 

Diamond added,  “Yeah, that’s very important because there is going to be more potential people out there killing people like this on a regular basis.” We asked if she was in favor of offering broad mental health support to everyone as a preventative measure in order to stop crises from happening before they get to that point.

 

“Yeah, I feel like they need to address it because the more they don’t address it, the more it’s going to be more killings and people like me, who is innocent, are going to be the targets,” she said. “I don’t want to be a part of that so let’s prevent this from happening before it gets worse.”

 

In the meantime, back in Norwood, Heather Guerino of Crusaders for Children’s Rights said on April 19 in the Williamsbridge Oval, she remembered Ángel as being shy and waiting on line at the annual Easter Egg hunt to take a picture with Justy the Bunny.

“The mental health of the Norwood community has been deeply affected by the loss of Ángel,” she said. “Crusaders for Children’s Rights and Bent on Wellness Prayer Line are organizing a Candle / Prayer Vigil for Angel. Dr. Rev. Gloria Bent has been praying with me and other members of the community on her Bent on Wellness Prayer Line. She has been calling me every day. The community is so grateful for her spiritual dedication.”

 

Guerino said she also spoke to Minister Candido Gonzalez, vice president of the 52nd Precinct Clergy Community Council on Aug. 6 and that he and another community clergy member, Musa Godson, stood ready to support the family, the latter reportedly saying, “I will support you and Ángel’s family to host a candlelight vigil for Ángel.”

 

Guerino said she had also been in touch with Rivera’s office, which has been in contact with Ángel’s family, and that he had also offered his support [for the vigil], along with Herbert-Guggenheim and Det. Stephen Echevarria of the 52nd Precinct Community Affairs team. The time and date of he vigil will be shared once confirmed.

 

On Aug. 12, State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33) sent a letter to NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez requesting NYC Parks to install cameras in the Williamsbridge Oval based on funding he had secured last year in the amount of $162,000 to cover the costs of camera installation.

 

As reported, Bronx CB7 Parks Chair Barbara Stronczer said NYC Parks had informed her previously that it supported improved lighting in the parks but did not maintain or operate any type of security cameras, and that any request for cameras in the parks would have to be handled by the police department. We don’t know if this was due to costs or if perhaps it was because Parks didn’t have the authority to install the cameras. We asked NYC Parks for comment and will share any feedback we receive.

 

As reported, as various community and wellness leaders gathered at a circle of healing event in the Williamsbridge Oval on Tuesday evening, Aug. 12, as part of a preorganized effort to help local youth process their feelings following the fatal stabbing of Ángel, the peaceful gathering was abruptly and seemingly deliberately and maliciously disrupted by a group of motorized bike riders.

For more on the topic of general NYC Parks security, click here. For more on the general topic of camera installation and use in New York City, click here, here, here, here and here.

 

Help is available for anyone dealing with mental health issues. Read our recent health check here. For immediate mental health support in New York City, anyone can contact NYC Well 24/7 by calling 888-NYC-WELL (692-9355), texting “WELL” to 65173, or visiting NYC.gov for online chat. For crisis situations, dialing 988 connects individuals to free, confidential crisis counseling and support. 

 

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on X @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.

 

*Miriam Quinones contributed to this story.