Social media trend reportedly inspired murder of Massachusetts man by teen

A 17-year-old boy was arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing death of 39-year-old Leonides Baez of Massachusetts near Times Square in Manhattan.

According to police and NBC New York, the teen told investigators the attack was inspired by a disturbing social media trend called “Mess with crackheads” (which encourages harassing or attacking homeless people). He and two other suspects allegedly taunted Baez, threw urine on him, and then stabbed him multiple times outside a restaurant on 43rd Street and Broadway late Monday night.

Baez later died from his injuries.

The teen was caught hopping subway turnstiles in Coney Island two days later. Police are still searching for the other two suspects.

Baez’s sister said her brother was not homeless, he was simply resting after traveling, and expressed heartbreak that a young person would throw their life away over a TikTok trend. Similar trend-inspired attacks have occurred in other parts of New York.

According to a GoFundMe fundraiser organized by his sister, Baez “was a loving and caring father of two. He was an amazing, charismatic person who lived each day enjoying the sun and appreciating life to the fullest. He loved to travel and spend time with his family. My brother enjoyed riding his bike anywhere he possibly could. He was hard-working, despite the lifestyle he lived. At one point, my brother traveled all the way from Massachusetts to Florida on his bike just so he could put his feet in the ocean. While he was in Florida, he helped an elderly community with landscaping work to make some extra cash. His ultimate goal was to travel across the United States to California on his bike. This savage attack on someone who would not hurt a fly is completely unjust.”

Services for Baez have not yet been announced.