Four young men killed with ‘extreme violence’ found in Long Island park; youngest victim was 16

Four young men were found dead of brutal violence in a park in Long Island, New York.

According to NBC New York, the victims were found in the Central Islip Recreation Village Park in Central Islip Wednesday night. They appeared to have been murdered with a sharp-edged instrument, suggesting they may have been victims of gang violence that has plagued the area in recent years.

Long Island Police Commissioner Timothy Sini said in a news conference that the deadly MS-13 gang is known to use sharp objects on its victims. Police told NBC News that the young men were killed with “extreme violence,” with Sini saying at the news conference that the men suffered “significant trauma” to their bodies.

The victims have not yet been identified: Two of the victims were 18 years old; one was 20, and one was 16.

The parents of 16-year-old Justin Llivicura are worried that the boy may have been among the victims. NBC News reports that the teen was last seen on Tuesday when he went to meet friends in the park, and has since stopped answering his phone. His family reportedly filed a missing persons report on Wednesday.

“I’m looking for my son,” his father Marcelo Llivicura told NBC News. “I don’t know if this is my son or no.”

At the news conference, Sini said the police department is committed to bringing the killers to justice.

“We’re going to do everything in our powers to solve these murders. We have all hands on deck, and we’re working closely with the FBI,” he said.

 

Photo: Wikimedia/Flickr:Mara Salvatrucha