Wednesday, January 9, 2013

[Updated] Street fight erupts at Raphael Ward's memorial service on Second Avenue this afternoon

There was a memorial service this afternoon for Raphael Ward, the 16-year-old gunned down for his jacket last Friday night on the Lower East Side.

Witnesses described a wild scene after a fight among students apparently broke out outside the Provenzano Lanza Funeral Home on Second Avenue between East Third Street and East Second Street around 3 p.m.

These pictures by Event Photos NYC show panicked students fleeing the scene, heading south toward Houston...



Bobby Williams was also in the vicinity and took these photos...




He reports that a large contingent of NYPD officers quickly arrived and restored order... no word on any arrests...




Police are looking to question four "persons of interest" about the murder. His funeral will take place at Our Lady of Sorrows Church on Pitt Street tomorrow morning, according to the Lo-Down.

More details on today's altercation as they become available...

[Courtesy of Event Photos NYC]

Updated 1-10:

The Lo-Down has more on the incident:

A friend of The Lo-Down witnessed the confrontation, telling us that at one point a teen was being beaten with a large chain and a frying pan. Another source said at least one fight began inside the funeral home. Cops were forced to shut down traffic on 2nd Avenue to deal with the situation.

Updated 1-10:
The Post reports that the NYPD arrested a 16 year old for his alleged role in the shooting last Friday night.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's worth pointing out the rather large police presence for a funeral. Where were the NYPD during Santacon?

Anonymous said...

Didn't they get the memo? Stop and Frisk has been ruled unconstitutional. Leave those kids alone!

Anonymous said...

Ahhhh.... the sublime parallel universes of the LES>

Anonymous said...

Ignorant people...that is my nephew's memorial why not have all the police there!!! My nephew was murdered and I am 99.99 percent sure that the a**hole who did it was in attendance!!!! It's about time the police stands up for us minorities in the lower east side!!!

Anonymous said...

I was on the second ave bus when they started running. There was a menacing atmosphere to the group. I saw a teen and an older man yelling at each other as a suited man tried to separate them in the intersection of 2nd ave and 2nd street. A bunch of teens started to circle, which raised the tension.

I lost interest and looked away. A few seconds later, the 6th graders that had inundated the bus started clamoring. I looked out the window and saw a teen swinging a long piece of metal at someone on the ground. He was swinging very hard. The kids on the bus were saying it was a frying pan, but it looked more like a piece of a bed frame from where I was. Kids had circled him, but since there were parked cars in the way, I couldn't see him. If it was a person, I can only imagine they were injured.

Police presence was definitely needed.

Anonymous said...

So sorry for your loss.

Anonymous said...

What time was this? Walked by around 1:30 and all seemed pretty calm outside, and there was at least one officer standing by.

EV Grieve said...

@ anon 10:06

I added the time element — it was just after 3 p.m. Bobby took his photos at 3:15.

Anonymous said...

there was still a police scene and lots of people outside the funeral home at 7 PM. i came onto the grieve to see wtf happened

Anonymous said...

It's also worth mentioning that there were absolutely adults involved in the melee. It's terrible that a young life was cut short but it's an inevitable product of a culture of violence that exists. I also saw many parents and adults doing what they could to maintain order, but at least as many were actively involved in the ruckus....some high-fiving youth afterwards. It was at least as disgusting to watch this violent attitude be perpetuated by those who should be teaching the younger generation that these violent ways don't achieve anything but death and prison.

Anonymous said...

my office is on the corner of 2nd and 2nd and I was able to view the memorial start to finish. first off, let me tell you it was heartbreaking to see many peoples response to a life cut short, absolutely heartbreaking. however secondly, let me tell you this gathering was an absolute powder keg waiting to blow... and it did. I saw the guy get beat with the frying pan, I saw the adults involved in the melee, I saw the gross irresponsibility of people congregating there. It was not a good look. these issues of violence are systemic and passed down through generations this is clear. get it together people.

Barney said...

@ anonymous 8:01:
"It's worth pointing out" that this was a wake not a funeral and there was potential for retaliation and violence which proved to be true. Your comparison to Santa Con is idiotic.

Anonymous said...

Look at the way most of the youth in our neighborhood behave. Many of them are not "good kids", despite what their friends and family say after they are hurt, arrested, or killed. This is the fault of the parents. I've never been anywhere inthe world where parents think its ok to speak to their kids they way they do here, and in public no less. Constant use of the "n" word, glorification of violence and prison life, etc. Those in these communities need to stand up and take some responsibility for what is happening, and they need to so all the time, not just when the television cameras are there. It all starts at home.

nygrump said...

Considering the violence being perpetrated against these communities for generations by the State and economy it is surprising there is not more violence. Flouride in the water works!

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

What a disturbing read. My guess is that a lot of people in attendance had a pretty good idea who was who or at least thought they did. As others have pointed out, in that kind of atmosphere, what happened isn't too surprising.

Anonymous said...

My heart goes out to the family. I'm an LES resident and the violence between the youths of this neighborhood breaks my heart. We are all part of the same community. I hope they catch the parties involved in this crime so that there are not anymore innocent lives lost.

Anonymous said...

A lot of this crime can be reduced and stopped if the "community" involved was not sticking by the "do not snitch code"

shmnyc said...

Whenever anyone says "It's the fault of the parents," you know they don't have kids.

Anonymous said...

We were all kids once, so being a parent has nothing to do with "knowing." We know what our parents did to us when we did wrong. We caught a beating & a justified one. And then we were severely restricted while at home. No phones, no videogames. The liberal establishment has decided that you can't smack your kid & that all kids just need a chance. Your neighborhood decries police presence except for when you deem it necessary.

Anonymous said...

shmnyc: OF COURSE THEY DON'T HAVE KIDS!

and regardless of the kids actions, does not mean the parent was "a bad parent"! Kids are going to do whatever they want!!

Sadonte CHERISHED his mother DEARLY and anyone in the "neighborhood" would know that had you known what household he was raised in! so OBVIOUSLY she raised him right!

i DO NOT condone this behavior, but if you know you were NOT invited to his wake because either you didn't know him OR you were part of the "other" party you deserve to get approached. you don't go some place UNINVITED let alone a place where people are mourning!

glamma said...

how could you say "this is the fault of the parents."
Are these children raised in a bubble with said parents?
No. They are raised on the streets og NYC where there are epidemic class and race wars to contend with.

Anonymous said...

Above was probably written by one of the parents who thought it appropriate to lead the kids into an all-out street melee.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, you're right! Let us keep blaming society! I mean personal responsibility doesn't get us anywhere! If we have children, it's not our responsibility to set a good example, that's "society's" job, right?
Your statements are further proof of what the real problem is.

Anonymous said...

Love how this has all become basically a discussion about "those kids" and street wars and such. How about some parent or parents are grieving out there for the loss of their child?

Anonymous said...

Am so sorry for the mother he was a great kid and I loved him and will miss him always the problem is no cops around when u need them.

Barney said...

Foolish me. I thought that the person who pulled the trigger was responsible for this murder. After reading the comments, I've learned that the murderer was not responsible at all. It was the fault of:
"Violence perpetrated by the state and economy".
"Fluoride in the water..."
"Epidemic class and race wars".
"No cops around when you need them".
Another case solved!

Anonymous said...

The central tragedy here is that a kid got shot and that another kid shot him. All I can say to that is that my heart goes out to the families involved, and I'm not going to pretend to offer up an opinion about it. I would imagine that the reverberations go through

A.) the families
B.) their community
C.) the schools, churches and police involved

and finally

D.) the outsider E.V. Grieve demographic trying to decipher the bigger picture and their place in it, who in fairness will be distracted by the next Starbucks fiasco long before the pain dies down with the other groups. To those folks, I'd say this isn't your story, nothing you can do. Nothing to see here folks, move on, keep walking...

Anonymous said...

So, apparently we can take these events as further evidence that *Manhattan (*sponsored by Starbucks) has yet to be utterly gentrified, contrary to popular belief.
"Keepin' it real". Sooooo. No Chipotle forthcoming on Pitt?