The death of a 16-year-old Black boy in Staten Island causes shockwaves around the city and could be considered a hate crime.
Reports indicate that the teen, Dayshen McKenzie, and his friend were chased by an angry mob of white teens in Staten Island on May 29 and as a result he McKenzie died of an asthma attack. The incident stemmed from a conflict over a girl between McKenzie’s friend and one of the white teens.
The group was reportedly chased by the white teens in three cars with one of the young men in the lead vehicle brandishing a gun. The boys were chased into a field and cornered by the white teens. When police arrived the assailants left.
While hiding in a shed, McKenzie collapsed. Diane Fatigati, a former NYPD officer, is a key witness of the incident and said the white teens called the Black teens they were chasing the “n-word.” Fatigati said she tried to revive McKenzie after he collapsed. He died later that day at Richmond University Medical Center.
McKenzie’s mother said that her son, who was the youngest of seven, forgot his asthma inhaler that day. The teen was an aspiring rapper who just posted a video to YouTube days before his death.
In a statement, Rev. Al Sharpton compared McKenzie’s death to the 1986 death of 23-year-old Michael Griffith who was hit by a car on Shore Parkway while trying to evade a white mob in Howard Beach, Queens.
“We will call on the federal government to investigate this incident as a possible hate crime because after the Staten Island District Attorney’s office (under the former prosecutor) showed questionable investigative skills in the Eric Garner case, we cannot in confidence rely on the DA’s office to pursue this matter to the degree the community feels will bring justice to the family of Dayshen McKenzie,” he said.