A Massachusetts teen admitted to trying to drown a Black classmate at a Cape Cod pond last summer, pleading guilty to attempted murder and assault charges.
John Sheeran, 15, who is White, entered the plea in Barnstable Juvenile Court and could face sentencing as an adult, according to court officials. He’ll find out his fate in February.
The shocking incident happened on July 19, 2023, at Goose Pond in Chatham. Prosecutors say Sheeran and another White teen met up with the victim, who had told them he couldn’t swim and wore a life jacket before getting into the water.
Once in the pond, Sheeran allegedly yanked on the boy’s life jacket, dunking him underwater four or five times. The victim struggled to breathe while the other teen laughed and reportedly compared the situation to George Floyd, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Sheeran even swam beneath the victim, grabbing at his feet to pull him under again, prosecutors said.
A bystander saw the incident unfold and rushed in to help. The witness later told police he saw Sheeran pushing the boy’s head under the water. The victim begged Sheeran to stop splashing and shoving him because he couldn’t swim.
“When I got to them, they were smirking,” the witness recalled in a police statement.
The victim didn’t report the ordeal until two days later, according to investigators. Prosecutors labeled the attack as racially motivated.
Sheeran’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued in court that the teen didn’t intend to harm his classmate, calling it “a stupid act that went too far.”
