By Alexander Dworkowitz
Two teenage friends were stabbed on Main Street in downtown Flushing Friday night after getting into a fight with a group of youths, police said.
Carlos Castro, 16, was stabbed in the chest in front of a cell phone store at 41-53 Main St. and rushed to New York Hospital Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
Police feared Castro might die, but he had improved to stable condition by Monday, said Cynthia Miska, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
Castro's friend, Carlos Sanchez, 15, was stabbed in the back and the shoulder, police said.
Sanchez was also taken to NYHQ in a critical state but was soon upgraded to stable condition, authorities said. He was released from the hospital Tuesday, Miska said.
Police said the two were approached by a group of five or six teenagers at about 11:15 p.m. Friday
Castro and Sanchez got into a verbal dispute with the group, police said, and one of the teenagers in the group pulled out a knife.
Police had made no arrests in the case as of Tuesday afternoon.
The victims attend John Bowne High School, and police believed their attackers also go to the school, the Daily News reported.
A student at the school said the attack was a hot topic, but administrators had made no official announcement about the matter.
“It's been a rumor around the school that someone got stabbed,” the student said.
Neighbors of the school and local business owners have complained about violent students at the school.
In the past, June Orchanian, principal of John Bowne, often has defended the students at her school, which has more than 3,000 enrolled.
Orchanian could not be reached for comment.
The attack took place on a busy stretch of Main Street down the block from the Flushing Library.
“I'm used to this,” said Liliana Velez, 28, who lives in apartment above the scene of the stabbing. “It's not safe around here.”
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718 229-0300, Ext. 141.
