Man Charged With Murder After Fatal Stabbing of 15-Year-Old, Police Say

UPDATE: 7 Arrested in Machete Stabbing Death of 15-Year-Old NYC Boy

A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the deadly stabbing of a 15-year-old boy last week outside a busy Bronx bodega, a crime the victim's family says is a case of mistaken identity.

Kevin Alvarez, of the Bronx, was charged Sunday with second-degree murder, manslaughter, gang assault and assault, the NYPD said. Police sources tell News 4 that Alvarez may have been the one seen in surveillance video dragging the boy from the store. 

The NYPD released photos of five suspects after 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz was stabbed in the neck in front of a bodega in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx on Wednesday.

Police in Paterson, New Jersey, meanwhile, have taken an unspecified number of people into custody in connection with the stabbing, the department said.

"The department has identified multiple suspects and is in the process of interviewing some of them at this time," the NYPD said in a statement. "Initial arrests have been made, and more are anticipated." 

"The NYPD thanks the public for the outpouring of tips in this case, and encourages people to continue to come forward if they have information to share," it added.

Police sources initially said that two people were in custody in connection with Guzman-Feliz' death. 

Guzman-Feliz, known to his friends as Junior, was part of the NYPD’s Law Enforcement Explorers program.

Family and friends of the boy, who was stabbed in the neck with a machete, say his attackers mistook him for someone else.

Attorney information for Alvarez wasn't immediately available on Sunday.

Meanwhile, family and friends gathered to mourn Lesandro Sunday night. His father and aunt said they were touched to see the crowd and some what relieved to have heard an arrest has been made. 

"Right now we really want justice for him because he deserves justice," Carmen Carmona, the victim's aunt, said.