RIP, Kenny Diaz #43

Washingtonpost.com:

A Woodbridge High School football player was fatally stabbed Saturday at a Prince William County park, an incident that has left his friends and teammates struggling for answers and mourning the death of the 18-year-old linebacker.

Police said Sunday that they are investigating the killing of Kenny Joseph Diaz, who was stabbed in the stomach at Marumsco Acre Lake Park, east of Interstate 95 near the Occoquan Bay in Woodbridge. Officers responded at 3:15 p.m., police said, and Diaz was taken to a hospital, where he died.

In a news release, police said the stabbing “does not appear to be random,” indicating that Diaz might have known his attacker or attackers. Prince William County police asked for the public’s help in providing information about the attack, the fourth homicide this year in the large suburban county.

Diaz’s death shook the Woodbridge High School community over the weekend.

Woodbridge High School was on a real high after their victory over Stonewall Jackson High School on Friday night.  The joy and celebration turned to horror as word spread of Kenny’s death  Saturday afternoon.   How does anyone make any sense of this tragic murder?

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Gang Members Indicted for Murder of Mickey Hernandez

From News and Messenger:

A grand jury in Prince William Circuit Court has indicted a Fairfax teen on a murder charge for the November stabbing death of 15-year-old Miguel “Mickey” Hernandez in Manassas.

Boris Alfred Juarez Ascencio, 18, of Blake Lane in Fairfax, is charged with first-degree murder for the Nov. 19 stabbing.

According to court documents, Juarez, who was 17 at the time of the incident, has been certified to stand trial as an adult.

In court documents, witnesses said that Juarez stabbed Hernandez several times as he walked home from school on Bartow Street.

Another teen, 18-year-old Mauricio Martinez of Manassas, has also been charged in Hernandez’s death.

According to testimony at a preliminary hearing, Martinez and Juarez were both members of the criminal street gang of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.

Witnesses said Martinez identified Hernandez as a member of a rival gang and then Juarez stabbed him, according to police and prosecutors.

Police and Hernandez’s family members have said he was not affiliated with a gang.

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