Boy’s Hands Cut Off; Gang Is Suspected

A 16-year-old boy’s hands were severed with a machete early Monday when he was attacked by several people believed to be members of a rival gang, Fairfax County police said.

The teenager was walking alone about 1 a.m. when he was attacked, said Officer Bud Walker, a police spokesman. Physicians at Inova Fairfax Hospital worked for hours and were able to reattach both hands, but the victim lost four fingers, Walker said.

Law enforcement sources said the victim is a suspected member of the South Side Locos gang, and his attackers are reputed members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, also known as MS-13.

The incident is the latest sign of increasing gang activity that has plagued the Washington region. In recent years, Mara Salvatrucha, considered by area police to be among the most dangerous gangs, has been linked to at least five killings in northern Virginia, as well as shootings, machete attacks and stabbings.