September 26, 2007

Sunshine State Hate

In Florida:

Four teens charged with beating of black FIU student

Four teenagers have been charged with a hate crime, accused of the beating and attempted drowning of a black college student at Haulover Beach Park Marina over the weekend.

After calling him the N-word, the teens beat Florida International University freshman Stephen Barrett with a baseball bat and tried to drown him in the Intracoastal Waterway, Miami-Dade police said.

. . .

All had attended a keg party at an island in the middle of the Intracoastal. About 1 a.m. Sunday, Barrett and two other FIU dorm mates were on a boat headed back to Haulover Marina when the driver of the boat said it was overloaded.

“Get off the boat, N–,” the teens said to Barrett, according to police reports.

Words were exchanged, but the FIU students got off the boat, said Christopher Eden, who had attended the party with Barrett and friend Daniel Cabevas.

The three friends, all 18, decided to wait on the island for the boat’s next trip.

But when they arrived back at the marina, the teens, now armed with baseball bats, were waiting for them.

. . .

Barrett was knocked into the Intracoastal, and several teens tried holding his head under water, according to police reports.

. . .

While Eden’s and Cabevas’ injuries were limited to bruises, Barrett’s were more serious. He was taken to Aventura Hospital suffering from a stiff neck and dizziness, according to Eden.