A year after her son was killed outside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Bronx mother Marisol Miranda says she is still in the dark. Michael Hernandez was fatally stabbed on the night of March 14, 2025, and while one teen is under arrest, Miranda says no one has clearly explained who else might have been involved or how the attack unfolded. Her family plans a candlelight vigil outside Barclays Center on Saturday at 6 p.m., vowing to keep public pressure on until they get answers.
What police say happened
According to ABC7, police say Hernandez was assaulted and stabbed multiple times near the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues around 9 p.m. on March 14, 2025, during an altercation outside the Atlantic Terminal Mall. He was rushed to NewYork‑Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Witnesses told reporters a large group was gathered at the scene and that several people ran off in the chaos after the stabbing.
One arrest, charges filed
On March 25, 2025, police arrested 18‑year‑old Noah Rentas, who now faces charges of second‑degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, local reporting shows. Patch noted that the arrest came about 11 days after the killing, and authorities have said the investigation remains active as they work to identify anyone else who may have taken part. Rentas’s arraignment and early court dates were covered at the time, but prosecutors have not put forward any public theory about a possible motive.
Family wants answers, NYPD mum on details
Miranda has been vocal about wanting accountability for everyone involved, even as she says she forgives the teen who was arrested. “I want answers. We don’t get any answers,” she told News 12 Bronx. She said she has not heard from the NYPD since October 2025 and worries the case could fade into the background. That silence, she says, is a big reason the family chose to mark the anniversary publicly with a vigil outside Barclays Center.
Conflicting accounts and a wider search
Descriptions of the scene have not all lined up. Some outlets reported four people confronting Hernandez, while others pointed to a much larger crowd that scattered once the violence started, a discrepancy that has not made detectives’ work any easier. As Brooklyn Eagle reported, police have continued to urge witnesses to come forward and say they are still looking for additional people connected to the attack. Community groups in both the Bronx and Brooklyn have organized memorials and circulated petitions to keep public attention on the case while investigators follow leads.
What is next in court
Rentas was arraigned on murder and weapons charges and was expected back in Brooklyn Criminal Court later in March, according to contemporaneous coverage by ABC7. If he is convicted on the second‑degree murder charge, he could face a lengthy prison term that stretches for decades. Prosecutors are set to lay out their case and any identifying evidence at future hearings. Until then, Miranda and her supporters say the vigil and ongoing petitions are their way of making sure the investigation does not slip out of public view.
