2 teens charged in stabbings at Peter A. Nelson Park in Huntington Station
Manor Field Park in Huntington Station, where a teenager was stabbed Monday evening. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Two teens, one of them a juvenile, have been arrested and charged with the stabbing of two other teens last month at Peter A. Nelson Park in Huntington Station, police said late Wednesday.
The attack is one of two stabbing incidents in the area in past weeks.
Suffolk County police said they arrested a 19-year-old and a 15-year-old in connection with the initial incident, which saw a 17-year-old boy and 14-year-old boy stabbed during an altercation between a "group of teenagers and young men" at the park on Oakwood Road near the annual Huntington Manor Fire Department fair on July 15.
The younger boy was seriously injured in the incident, which occurred at about 8:50 p.m. Police said the older boy sustained "non-life-threatening stab wounds."
Police said officers arrested the 19-year-old suspect Wednesday, charging him with first-degree assault for his role in the July 15 stabbings. He was held overnight at the Third Precinct and was due to be arraigned Thursday in First District Court in Central Islip.
The 15-year-old suspect was arrested on July 31, police said. He was charged with first-degree assault and second-degree assault, arraigned and remanded to a juvenile detention center.
Police have not released the identities of either suspect.
While it is routine for juvenile suspects not to have their identities released, it is rare that police don't release the identity of an adult suspect.
Police said Thursday only that the older teenage suspect was not being named due to "investigative reasons."
The stabbings were the first of at least two incidents that have occurred in the Huntington Station area in recent weeks.
On Monday, police said a 17-year-old was stabbed at Manor Field Park at East Fifth Street and Lenox Road after becoming involved in a fight with "another male," Newsday reported. That incident occurred at about 7:15 p.m., police said.
Police said the teen suffered "a superficial stab wound" to his torso and was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released.
No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
Police ask anyone with information regarding these incidents to contact Second Squad detectives at 631-854-8252.
In a statement this week, Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth called the stabbings "extremely concerning," and said the town will have its public safety officers conduct enhanced patrols, adding: "The safety of our community is of paramount concern to the town and we will do everything within our power to keep our parks and public spaces a safe place for all our residents."
Newsday's Maureen Mullarkey contributed to this story.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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