Fifteen year old viciously attacked by three men

Fifteen-year-old Christian Martinez, a resident of Balan Street in Lake Independence, remains hospitalized tonight, following a vicious attack on Thursday evening during which he was stabbed multiple times to the body.  According to police, at around two o’clock that afternoon the teenager was riding home on bicycle when upon reaching the corners of Balan Street and La Croix Boulevard he was confronted by three dark complexioned males.  The trio reportedly alighted a vehicle and one of them threw a maul at him, hitting Martinez in the back.  Another individual then proceeded to stab him numerous times with an ice pick.  While a motive for the brutal attack remains unknown, the area where the incident took place has experienced a resurgence in crime and violence recently.  Whether the assault is the result of an ongoing feud between rival groups in the area is yet to be determined.  The area of La Croix Boulevard, a stone’s throw away from where the near-fatal stabbing took place, is also the vicinity where nineteen-year-old Tashia Staine was shot and left for dead on New Year’s Eve.  Police investigations continue.