The Bronx teen savagely slain for being in the wrong place at the wrong time had recently fallen in with a troubled crowd, prompting his worried parents to take drastic steps — with his dad even hiding his shoes to try to keep him at home.

A rebellious turn by 14-year-old Angel Mendoza — who was pistol-whipped, beaten and repeatedly stabbed late Tuesday in apparent revenge for a playground fight he wasn’t involved in — began in May, when the formerly good student started skipping class, his father Miguel Mendoza told The Post on Friday.

Miguel Mendoza blamed the bad influence of his son’s friends for him starting to stray off the straight-and-narrow path.

“I would hide the shoes so he won’t go out, but he’d find a way to go out,” the heartbroken dad said. 3

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The change in Ange

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