A 17-year-old Longmont resident died after he was beaten and stabbed during a gang-related attack in north-central Longmont on Saturday.
Longmont police responding to a call about a disturbance shortly after 6:30 p.m. found a man lying in the street with stab wounds in the abdomen, police Cmdr. Craig Earhart said. He was later identified as Martin Garcia, according to the Boulder County coroner’s office.
Garcia was taken to Longmont United Hospital but died from his injuries.
Garcia was confronted by a group of eight to 10 men in their late teens or early 20s as he left his car and began walking across the street to a friend’s home, Earhart said.
He was hit by baseball bats and clubs or metal rods and then stabbed with a large knife, Earhart said.
A 16-year-old witness said he didn’t see the stabbing but saw his friend stumbling to his car and the attackers running to their cars around the corner.
Investigators have made no arrests but are pursuing several leads, Earhart said.
Witnesses told police the attackers drove away in two cars, a 1990s model gray or green Cadillac DeVille and a 1990s model gray or silver Mercury Marquis.
The attackers are members of the Longmont Norteños gang, Earhart said.
The victim was once affiliated with the Sureño gang, Earhart said. Police are not sure if Garcia was still active in the Longmont gang, he said.
A member of the Sureño gang shot and wounded a man in Longmont on Wednesday, Earhart said.
“It’s too early to say if this was in retaliation, but we’re looking into that,” Earhart said.
The 16-year-old witness and about 10 other friends of Garcia, whose nickname was “Bouncer,” spent several hours Sunday hanging out and chalking messages on the sidewalk near the site where Garcia was stabbed.
The friends set up teddy bears, a cross, seven flower bouquets and a couple of half-full bottles of Corona beer in the grass. They wrote “Descansa En Paz Martin” (Rest in Peace, Martin) on the sidewalk with light blue chalk.
Josué Castaneda, 19, blew smoke over the teddy bears and flowers to bless them, he said.
A few other friends took swigs of beer and then hid the bottles behind their backs as police cars drove down the street.
Garcia wasn’t involved in gang activity, his cousin Ricky Garcia, 19, said.
“He wasn’t really rolling around looking for any trouble,” Celin Saenz, 15, said.
Garcia spent much of his time working construction to support his wife and 2-month-old son, José Hernandez, 19, said.
“He liked to draw, went to school and went to church on Sundays,” Ricky Garcia said. “He was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Gang-related violence and tensions have escalated in Longmont over the past two weeks, Earhart said.
“I think the community at large should be concerned,” Earhart said. “But the gangs are not targeting outside gangs. From that standpoint, your average citizen probably won’t be a target for this type of activity.”
Staff writer Katherine Crowell can be reached at kcrowell@denverpost.com.
