New York City Violence: Teen in critical condition after being set on fire
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A teenager was left in critical condition after he was set on fire inside a Bronx apartment building during a dispute with another man on Wednesday afternoon, cops said.
The 18-year-old victim, identified by police sources as Winston Ortiz, was stabbed three times then doused with gasoline and lit aflame with a match on the fifth floor of 1045 Woodycrest Ave. in Highbridge around 3 p.m.
Police sources said the suspect entered the building about 10 minutes before Ortiz — who does not live there — then carried out the attack.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two neighbors in the building were able to douse the flames using buckets of water before EMTs arrived. Ortiz was taken to Harlem Hospital in critical condition.
One of the building’s residents, a 34-year-old mother, said she was alerted to the grisly scene by a woman screaming in the hallway.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I step outside. I saw flames,” said the woman, who wished to remain anonymous.
“I thought her apartment was on fire. And when I go over there, I saw a guy in flames all over his body.”
The witness and the mother of the screaming girl, who lives on the building’s sixth floor, both grabbed buckets of water and poured them onto the burning victim. It’s unclear if the teen girl and the victim know each other.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The incident left the 34-year-old witness rattled.
“I got very scared because I have my girls here,” she said. “It’s really concerning.”
Wednesday’s attack came a day after two men were shot on the corner outside the building, cops said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 21-year-old man was struck seven times in the 4:45 p.m. shooting. The other victim, 37, was shot in the foot, police said.
Both shooting victims were taken to Lincoln Hospital and are expected to survive, authorities said.
It’s unclear if the two incidents are connected. No arrests have been made in either as of Wednesday night.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 34-year-old mother said the recent spate of neighborhood violence has left her fearing for her unsafe.
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“Unfortunately in the neighborhood we feel like we’re not safe,” the mother said. “There was a shooting yesterday around the corner. We may need to have some police around the area.”
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