Bodies of three missing teenagers turned up on Long Island, in killings being linked to the MS-13 gang, authorities said on Tuesday.
The remains of Javier Castillo, 16, Kerin Pineda, 19, and Angel Soler, 16, were found last month in Freeport, Merrick and Roosevelt, respectively, federal officials said.
All three teens are victims of MS-13 gang violence, law enforcement sources said.
Lillian Oliva, Pineda’s mom, said Nassau County cops broke the sad news to her on Friday.
“It’s very bad,” she told Newsday. “I can’t believe this happened.”
These three slayings bring the Long Island death total, tied to MS-13 violence, to 25 over the past two years, officials said.
The MS-13 gang, or the Mara Salvatrucha with links to Central America, has taken root with thousands of members in cities and suburbans across America.