If police noticed the pattern, they said nothing publicly until September, after two girls at Brentwood High School, ages 15 and 16, were beaten to death in what investigators suspect was an attack by members of the violent street gang MS-13.
Suffolk County police began pouring resources into the cases after the deaths of best friends Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas, who were attacked in a residential neighborhood near an elementary school on Sept. 13.
Detectives suspect all are likely victims of the MS-13 gang, which has roots in El Salvador and outposts in communities across the U.S. The recent killing of a sixth person in Brentwood, a 34-year-old man, is also under investigation.
Meyers said the amount of information police release publicly about investigations varies, depending on whether foul play is indicated or whether the person appears to be a runaway.
Critics say the police department was hampered in gathering intelligence when former Chief James Burke removed detectives from a federal gang task force from 2012 to 2013.
Sini, who became head of the department after Burke was arrested last year on charges he beat a burglary suspect in a precinct squad room, said he has worked to restore relationships between the department and FBI.
