The White House sent out a tweet about the Huntington Station stabbing that occurred earlier this week, connecting illegal immigration and gang activity.
“We welcome immigrants who come here legally but not illegal gang members. This week a HS (high school) student was stabbed by 3 MS-13 members,” the tweet said.
Three students, Nobeli Montes Zuniga, 20, Ramon Arevalo Lopez, 19, and Oscar Canales Molina, 17 all of Huntington Station were arrested after a teen was stabbed in a fracas near the Burger King restaurant, about a half mile from Huntington High School. While Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said they were here illegally and confirmed members of the MS 13 gang, a lawyer for at least one of the men denied he belongs to a gang.
The stabbing happened two days after an emotional Huntington Board of Education meeting where the deportation of a Honduran student, school policy and the role of a school resource officer were debated.
Wednesday’s stabbing provoked angry discussions online, with many complaining that the school district had previously denied that there were any gang members at the high school. The three arrested Wednesday were all enrolled at Huntington High School.