A 15-year-old white teen from Cape Cod has pleaded guilty to attempting to drown a Black boy who he hurled racial remarks on, with his friend calling the victim “George Floyd.”
Prosecutors say 14-year-old John Sheeran, at the time of the July 2023 attack, forced the 15-year-old victim—who was wearing a life jacket because he could not swim into a pond in Chatham, Massachusetts.
Sheeran then threw rocks at the boy and repeatedly shoved his head underwater while he used the n-word.
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The white teen has now pleaded guilty in Barnstable Juvenile Court to attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon.
According to reports, the judge will decide whether to sentence him as a juvenile or an adult as the potential outcome remains unclear.
Sheeran’s accomplice, who also happens to be a white teen, is facing a harassment charge for laughing and mocking the victim during the attack.
The second teen will be charged as a juvenile as he allegedly called the victim “George Floyd,” a reference to the 2020 killing of the Black man by a police officer, as the boy begged for his life.
The attack unfolded when Sheeran and the victim began to interact with each other at the pond.
Sheeran reportedly forced the boy into the water though the victim could not swim and began submerging him while shouting slurs.
The victim, in a police report obtained by NBC10, said the accomplice laughed and mocked him throughout the incident.
A minor witness also told authorities he heard the victim plead with Sheeran not to splash or push him as he was unable to swim.
The witness revealed that he saw the white teen and another boy pushing the victim’s head underwater as the black 15-year-old screamed for help.
“When I finally got to them, they were smirking.”
The case has gone on to spark outrage and many have called for accountability.
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Community members and advocacy groups are eyeing the court’s decision to see how it all unfolds for the white teen who tried to drown the black boy.
