Teen stabbed 7 times outside Hackensack police station; family says he was targeted
HACKENSACK, New Jersey (WABC) -- As police continue to search for the suspects who repeatedly stabbed a 16-year-old outside a police station on Tuesday afternoon, family members say it wasn't random and the teen had been targeted before.
Now, loved ones are demanding answers about what they say was an escalating situation.
"Instead of me just being a dad, I got to turn to a cop," the teen's dad said.
The aunt of the 16-year-old victim showed up at the Hackensack City Council meeting hours after her nephew was stabbed multiple times outside of City Hall.
Luz Diaz told council members her nephew was stabbed seven times and was in surgery for three hours at Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.
She said several suspects chased him for blocks before pouncing. They were in a black BMW with a paper license plate, she said.
She said the boy's family pulled him from Hackensack High School earlier this year over ongoing concerns for his safety, including people showing up to her sister's house in ski masks.
"They feel like, you know, you're a man because you got a weapon. But these are babies. You know what I'm saying? Like. And in this. This is a this is sad. It is scary," the father said.
The aunt said the police told her it was the school district's responsibility, since the dispute started in the high school.
Hackensack Mayor Caseen Gaines later said that was unacceptable.
"What we are not going to do is say, if the issue emanated in the schools, that's the school's problem, that's not what we are going to do because the schools are part of Hackensack too," Gaines said. "No one should be assaulted on the streets of Hackensack, period, especially not a kid."
The aunt said the family has made numerous complaints to the Hackensack School Board and to police.
The mayor is promising action.
"If that means that the manager has to communicate with the superintendent and figure out how we can make sure that issues that perhaps emanate in the schools don't spill out into the street, then that's something that we can take on by having good open communication," Mayor Caseen Gaines said.
It is unclear what led to the stabbing, and no description of the suspects has been released.
No arrests have been made.
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