Stepfather arrested in killings; 3d teen dies
A 30-year-old man wanted for the shooting deaths of three teenagers in an ambush in Philadelphia was arrested at a Bucks County motel Wednesday night, a federal agent said.
Axel Barreto, who also allegedly wounded another teen in the same attack in the city's Juniata Park section, was arrested at the Knights Inn in Bensalem around 9 p.m., said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal John Patrignani.
Barreto, who was with a woman, was not armed and did not resist arrest by Philadelphia police officers and members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, Patrignani said.
About 10:30 Tuesday night, seven teenage boys were packed into a Toyota Corolla, sitting on top of each other, when the car pulled over on the 1500 block of East Luzerne Street.
The boys were looking for a fight, police said.
It started in school with an argument between some of the friends in the car and a group of three teenage brothers, spilled onto Facebook with threats, and culminated with plans to settle the matter with a physical battle.
As the boys waited, a man in a gray hoodie came out of a house and approached them. Spooked, the kids drove around to the back of the house, but moments later, police said the same man emerged from the back door, and ran up to the passenger side.
He then fired 10 to 12 shots into the car at point-blank range.
Joshua Soto, 14, of North Philadelphia, and Javier Orlandi, 16, of Kensington, were shot and pronounced dead within a half-hour. Dante Lugo, 14, died Wednesday night at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. The 16-year-old driver of the car was hit in the neck and was listed in stable condition at St. Christopher's.
Police on Wednesday identified the shooter as Barreto, the stepfather of the three brothers, and announced a warrant for his arrest.
Earlier in the day, police described Barreto as "armed and extremely dangerous."
"There very easily could have been seven dead teenagers in that car. He just randomly fired," said Homicide Capt. James Clark.
A search of the car has turned up no weapons, Clark said.
Police do not know what sparked the initial argument, which Clark said started in school between two different groups of teenagers from different neighborhoods.
Asked whether police are concerned that friends of the victims might commit retaliatory acts of violence, Clark said police will apprise the teenagers' schools of the situation and brief police officers in their neighborhoods.
Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Nutter visited the schools two of the teenagers attended. At the Kensington Culinary Arts School, where Orlandi was a student until he recently dropped out, Nutter spoke to a group of 75 to 100 students for about five minutes.
The mayor spoke "from the heart," spokesman Mark McDonald said, urging the kids not to retaliate and to focus on their futures.
Next, Nutter stopped by Mariana Bracetti Academy, a charter middle school where one of the non-injured teenagers in the car is a student.
"You are in a great school, in a loving environment with people who really care about you," Nutter told the students. "Our hearts are heavy about what happened, but we are very concerned about you. Don't let this disrupt what you are about. You need to graduate from the eighth grade, go to high school and on to college. Stay in school. Stay positive. Stay focused. You're doing great work. We just came here to say that we love you and care about you."
McDonald said the mayor felt the need to address the students and "make the case for their future."
"We very seriously hope that they can avoid retaliation or being involved with Facebook fights and the like," McDonald said.
Anyone with information about Barreto is asked to call the homicide unit at 215-686-3334.
Inquirer staff writers Troy Graham and Robert Moran contributed to this article.