Last week, 14-year-old Angel Mendoza was fatally stabbed in a Bronx playground by a group of teens. His 15-year-old friend Yasmin found him dying. In the days since, a 13-year-old was stabbed by a 14-year-old in Queens , and a 17-year-old shot at a rival teen in Times Square , hitting tourists.

Unfortunately, these are not anomalies. By last year, the number of youths arrested with guns had risen 136% since New York State’s “Raise the Age” legislation began to take effect in 2018. And tragically, the number of juvenile shooting victims grew 81%. Indeed, the proportion of all our city’s shooting victims who are children has approximately doubled since 2018.

Why? 3

Because the criminal justice process under RTA allows too many violent teens to cycle through the system, unchalle

See Full Page