Detectives are questioning three people in connection with the fatal shooting of a teenager for his designer jacket on the Lower East Side over the weekend, law enforcement sources told The Post.
The threesome were not believed to have participated in the cold-blooded murder, but may have information that could help investigators solve the case, the sources said.
On Friday night, four unidentified thugs got into a heated argument with 16-year-old Raphael Ward, who had rebuffed their demands for the coat near Rivington and Columbia streets, sources said.
The assailants dashed off, but came back minutes later with a gun and pumped a bullet into Ward’s chest, sources said.
Ward was found mortally wounded next to a bodega in the freezing cold, still wearing his puffy down winter Polo jacket, the victim’s friends told the Post.
He was later pronounced dead at Beth Israel Hospital.
Video released today showed four teens wanted for questioning after they barged into the bodega around the time of Ward’s slaying and cased the place, sources said.
kconley@nypost.com