16-year-old Khaseen Morris was fatally stabbed Monday in an attack witnessed by about 50 other teens. But rather than help the dying young man, police say the group of bystanders simply watched and recorded.
"Kids stood there and didn’t help Khaseen," Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick of the Nassau County Police Department said during a press conference Tuesday. "They videoed his death instead of helping him."
According to the New York Times, the attack took place at around 3:30 p.m. Monday outside a Long Island strip mall. Detectives say the attack may have stemmed from a dispute involving a girl whom Morris had walked home following a party over the weekend. The slain teen is believed to have been targeted by the girl's ex-boyfriend, who had allegedly threatened Morris shortly before the attack.
"My brother, he shrugged stuff like that off," Morris' sister, Kedeemah Morris, told the Times. "He told the boy he didn’t want his girlfriend, it was nothing like that, he just walked her home. The boy said he didn’t care."
Witnesses say the incident began when a group of guys pulled up outside the strip mall and rushed an unarmed Morris and his friends, one of whom suffered a fractured arm in the attack. Police say Morris was transported to the hospital with a stab wound to the chest. He died of his injuries overnight.
Police say they have not made arrests, but are now searching for at least seven boys who were allegedly involved in the fatal stabbing. Officers have encouraged bystanders to come forward with any information.
"The individuals who are responsible for this, if you’re not part and parcel to the murder of Khaseen Morris, now’s the time to get in touch with us and let us know who did this and why," Fitzpatrick told reporters. "If you were just coming here and thinking you were fighting, and then he got stabbed during that, you need to get out in front of that ... After I put handcuffs on you, that ship has sailed."
A candlelight vigil for Morris will be take place Wednesday near the crime scene. An online fundraiser has also been launched to help the Morris family pay for funeral expenses.
