Massachusetts father says he and daughter were racially attacked while fishing

A Massachusetts father and his daughter were allegedly attacked while fishing.

Sheron Brown and his 10-year-old daughter were fishing on Memorial Day when a man reportedly hurled racial slurs and threw rocks at them, authorities said. The suspect, identified as 66-year-old David McPartlan, has been arrested and charged with assault.

Father and daughter allegedly attacked

Brown and his daughter, Azaylia, launched their boat at Lake Shirley in Lunenburg, Massachusetts  after stopping for pizza, hoping for a peaceful outing. The afternoon took a violent turn when McPartlan, standing on his property, shouted for them to leave before allegedly throwing rocks near their boat. Brown recorded the incident, capturing threats and at least one rock landing close by.

Despite keeping their distance from the dock, Sheron and Azaylia endured a 20-minute tirade. At one point, Azaylia asked her father what they had done wrong. Sheron reassured her they hadn’t done anything and called 911 as tensions escalated.

When Lunenburg police arrived, McPartlan admitted to throwing rocks but did not confirm using slurs. He was charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault to intimidate. His court date is set for June 16.

A seasoned fisherman, Sheron said he has never encountered this level of harassment in more than a decade on the water. Now, he is focused on helping his daughter process what happened.

Hard lesson

“Racism does exist,” he said. “My daughter witnessed it, where someone calls her father that word… I’m forced to explain things to her when I may not be ready. I’m forced to explain something to her, under duress, after I choke back how I feel, what I may want to do.”

He later posted on Facebook, “Ignorance is not bliss. I firmly believe it’s a choice. It’s still upsetting that we had to deal with this unfortunate incident. Ugh!”

Despite the pain of that experience, Brown sees a valuable lesson in it for everyone.

“If nothing else, I’m teaching my daughter to stand up to bullies, to challenge harassment, and to affirm that racism has no place in the world,” Brown said.