On Tuesday, Robert McCallion, aged 36, pleaded guilty to 14 felony charges. One of these charges was attempted murder as a hate crime for repeatedly stabbing a 17-year-old Black teenager. The ordeal happened on March 13th 2020 as the innocent black teenager was visiting her relatives in the North Highland Avenue apartment complex where Robert was living at the time.
Though a total stranger to him and unprovoked, Robert attacked the young lady stabbing her severally with a knife. The prosecutors claim that Robert used racial slurs when doing the stabbing. He was shortly arrested in the building’s parking lot where he was hiding. His body and clothes were soaked in the young teenager’s blood.
The knife used to stub the lady was also recovered at the scene.
Announcing the plea on Tuesday Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah said, “This was a brutal, despicable and cowardly attack by Robert McCallion on an innocent teenager because of the color of her skin. Hate crimes such as this not only traumatize the victim but the community as well, and will be prosecuted aggressively by this office”.
Robert awaits sentencing on November 16th. According to the plea agreement, his sentence could range anywhere between eight to twenty five years.
