NEW YORK CITY: Bullied Gay Teenager Charged With Stabbing Classmate To Death Tells His Side Of The Story

Andy Humm reports at Gay City News:

Abel Cedeno, 18, the bullied gay teen charged with killing one classmate, Matthew McCree, 15, and wounding another, Ariane Laboy, 16, with a knife spoke to Gay City News from Rikers Island on Sunday, recounting the incident, the anti-gay bullying that preceded it for years, and the way it intensified on September 27 inside his history class at the Bronx’s Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation in front of two teachers and a class full of students.

While most press reports say that Cedeno was just being pelted with pencils before the stabbing, Abel said he was defending himself from repeated punches from McCree, who saw that Cedeno had a knife. “I was trying to get him off me,” Cedeno said, explaining he knew his tormentors to have gang connections and that many of the students at the school carry weapons — “knives and, in some cases, guns,” he said. “I was afraid for my life.”

Social media users who say they are part of the 800YM gang have claimed McCree as a member in online postings and have threatened Cedeno’s family and friends. While there were many witnesses to what happened, there is concern that they will be afraid to testify in Cedeno’s defense for fear of retaliation.

There’s much, much more to the story at the link. My initial report on the stabbing, including local news clips, is here.