A Bronx dad killed in a bar fight in his neighborhood was attacked by a member of a rival gang, police said Tuesday.
Baraquiel Castelan, 32, was drinking at a party in Queens before heading to El Chicanito bar and restaurant on E. 153rd St. near Elton Ave. in the Melrose section of the Bronx around 3:50 a.m. Saturday, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing Tuesday.
Castelan, a known Cholo gang member, was with a group who began arguing with another squad at the bar, who were members of the Raza Loca street gang, according to Kenny.
The argument turned physical and the men began throwing punches, pool sticks and chairs.
“This is straight-up gang beef between two Mexican gangs,” Kenny said.
The groups were thrown out of the bar and a Raza Loca member hid in a doorframe, Kenny said. As Castelan walked through the door, the man plunged a knife into the right side of his neck, hitting an artery.
Medics rushed him to Lincoln Hospital, but he could not be saved.
Castelan’s friend was also stabbed at the bar but survived the attack, Kenny said.
A couple of blocks away shortly after the stabbings, a man in a bodega was approached by a group of men who asked, “Are you Cholo?” The man said no and was stabbed in the right side, according to the NYDP chief. He also survived the stabbing.
Police believe they have identified the man who killed Castelan and are working to arrest him.
