Sept. 28 (UPI) — Eight suspects have been charged in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy whose stabbing was witnessed by 50 to 70 teenagers and posted on Snapchat 12 days ago.
Family and friends attended a funeral for Khaseen Morris on Saturday at Tower Funeral Home in Oceanside, N.Y.
Also Saturday, seven teens — between 16 and 18 and all from Long Beach, N.Y. — were arrested and be charged with second-degree gang assault, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said in a CNN report.
It hasn’t been determined if they will be charged as adults.
Earlier, 18-year-old Tyler Flach, of Lido Beach, N.J., was charged with murder. Police believe that Flach reportedly stabbed Morris in the chest because he was upset about his association with a girl.
Flach, who was friends with the girl’s ex-boyfriend, pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
“The seven subjects were active participants in the attack on Khaseen Morris and his friend,” Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick Saturday during a news conference. “Physically beating, physically hitting people, throwing them to the ground, each one of them had an active role.”
Police said they don’t believe they are members of any gang.
Authorities are asking for additional witnesses and video.
“We can’t be everywhere at all times. The only way that we can receive justice is if the community helps us and cooperates,” Singas said. “It’s imperative we get this information that we can seek justice for Khaseen’s family and for the Oceanside community.”
On Sept. 16, Morris, was fatally stabbed in the parking lots of a strip mall near Oceanside High School, where he was a senior. Several of the onlookers recorded the fight on their phones but none stepped in to help the victim, Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said.
Morris was pronounced dead at a hospital.
“You could see him like, in so much pain, and he couldn’t breathe, and he just fell, and no one helped him,” Keyanna Morris, Khaseen Morris’ sister, told WABC-TV.
She described him as a “sweetheart” who would help anyone.
