A small town on Long Island, Brentwood, is mourning four teens murdered by the notorious MS-13 gang. The bodies of Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 15, and the discovery of two sets of human remains, males ages 17 and 19, in a wooded area have been linked to the MS-13 gang that has terrorized Brentwood for quite a few years now. The Mickens family believes that MS-13 gang members tried to kidnap Cuevas and that Mickens tried to help her friend. The bodies of the two males are believed to have been victims of MS-13 but from a former killing.
Suffolk County Police say they are launching an all out assault on the gang within the eleven square mile town as well as in Central Islip and Wyandanch. MS-13 is a gang that originated in El Salvador. They have migrated to the United States through the immigration process, which is at best a very leaky sieve. Gang members are known for facial tattoos but some reports say that they are getting away from that trend to make them less recognizable.
Ray Mayo, executive director, Brentwood Association for Concerned Citizens said:
“Without a doubt the community is scared, but I know of instances where residents have heard things and have called police.”
“We have been in regular talks with the police to come up with some strategies.”
Law enforcement officials say MS-13 is the largest gang on Long Island with Suffolk County “cliques” concentrated in the villages of Brentwood, Huntington, Copiague, Farmingdale, and Islip.
Suffolk County Legislator for Brentwood, Monica Martinez, a former teacher and school district administrator, says she has seen a transformation in recent years of this predominantly African-American and Hispanic working class community 47 miles east of New York City.
“We have seen an influx of them to the district, one in which no child was denied access to an education,” Martinez says. “There is no indication that the current incidents have been a result of the influx of unaccompanied children.”