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A 15-year-old boy, identified as John Sheeran, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon after trying to drown a Black teenager in a Cape Cod pond in Chatham, Massachusetts. The incident, which occurred in July 2023, also involved Sheeran’s accomplice, who mocked the victim and called him “George Floyd,” referencing the Black man whose 2020 death sparked global protests.
The incident
Prosecutors said that Sheeran, 14 at the time, threw rocks at the 15-year-old victim and forced him into the pond on July 19, 2023. He then held the victim’s head underwater while using racial slurs.
‘They were smirking’
The victim, who was wearing a life jacket because he could not swim, told police: “When I finally got to them, they were smirking.” A witness corroborated this account, stating they saw Sheeran and his accomplice “pushing [the victim’s] head underwater” as the victim “screamed for help.”
When the teenager shouted for help, a beachgoer intervened and brought him back to shore, according to a Cape Cod Times report.
Sheeran’s accomplice mocks victim
During the attack, Sheeran’s accomplice, another white teenager, reportedly laughed and called the victim “George Floyd.” This reference to the victim’s struggle to breathe highlighted the racial motivations behind the attack.
The accomplice, who is facing harassment charges, will be tried as a juvenile for mocking and laughing at the victim while he pleaded for his life.
Cape and Islands district attorney Robert Galibois has said that the assault was racially motivated.
Hearing in juvenile court
Sheeran pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon at Barnstable Juvenile Court. He was charged as a “youthful offender,” which allows the judge to sentence him as either a juvenile or an adult. His sentencing is scheduled for February 5, 2024. The potential sentence he could face remains unclear.
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