Black teen dies of asthma attack while chased by armed mob

A former NYPD officer attempted to resuscitate the teen without success

Maddy/Twitter

A black teenager in New York City died after suffering from an asthma attack while a mostly-white mob chased him, shouting racial epithets and waving a gun, witnesses say.

Dayshen McKenzie, 16, went out with a group of friends in Staten Island when the 27 May chase occurred. The New York Daily News reports that it was sparked by an argument between boys over a girl.

A witness to the chase, ex-NYPD officer Diane Fatigati, said that she attempted to resuscitate Mr McKenzie, but was unsuccessful.

“To me, it’s murder,” she said. “They were chasing him - that’s a crime. You’re hunting them because they’re black ... You’re calling them a n****r.”

Ms Fatigati, 53, told reporters that she heard one of the pursuers shout that he had a gun.

“I’m gonna shoot you, n****r!” she heard another one yell at the victim.

A friend of Mr McKenzie’s, 19-year-old Harry Smith, pointed out that none of the men giving chase were black.

“They were calling us n****rs,” Mr Smith said. “I just heard a lot of racial slurs. They were mixed - some white, some of them were Hispanic. But nobody was black.”

Tisha Richardson, Mr Mckenzie’s mother, said that she was shocked to hear about the circumstances of his death.

“The sadness turns to anger,” Ms Richardson, 43, said. “I want justice for him. Somebody should be held accountable.”

According to the Daily News, Mr McKenzie’s friends interviewed at the scene had not mentioned the racial slurs - but hate crime investigators are expected to conduct additional interviews.