A 16-year-old boy stabbed in the stomach near his high school may have been attacked by a romantic rival in a feud over a girl, police officials said Wednesday.
The young victim was seriously wounded while leaving the International School of Liberal Arts in the Bronx with his girlfriend around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said at a press briefing.
“He’s in critical condition. So this isn’t a random one. He [was] specifically targeted,” Essig told reporters.
“We believe it might be the perpetrator and the victim are fighting over the same girl,” he explained.
Essig noted the attacker — who remained at large Wednesday — allegedly used to date the victim’s girlfriend, who also fled.
“Witnesses who know the two individuals say they’ve been disputing for the past few months over this,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say he’s a … fellow student right now at this point,” Essig said of the possible perpetrator.
Police on Tuesday said they were looking for five males who fled the site of the stabbing on foot.
Investigators are still looking for video of the incident, Essig said.
