Seventeen-year-old Harold Sermeno of Far Rockaway was found dead on the morning of Tuesday, December 18, 2018, in a picnic area behind the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence. He had been attending an alternative school program after a suspension from Lawrence High School. An autopsy showed multiple gunshot wounds, and investigators concluded the shooting likely occurred late on Monday night, December 17, 2018.

Authorities say Sermeno was lured to the community center by a 13-year-old girl who allegedly acted as bait in a plot tied to members of the MS-13 Normandie clique. Prosecutors reported the motive was retaliation after Sermeno allegedly showed disrespect to the gang during a phone call. Sermeno was ambushed at a picnic table, shot multiple times in the head and chest with a .22 caliber revolver and attacked with a machete; the weapon and machete were later recovered in an apartment in Far Rockaway.

Several suspects were arrested days after the killing, including Yonathan Sanchez, Carlos Guerra and Elmer Gutierrez, plus two juvenile males and one juvenile female. If anyone knew Harold, was in the Five Towns area on December 17–18, 2018, or has information about the Normandie clique, please come forward with tips.