Three teenagers who turned themselves in have denied their actions were racially motivated.
A Massachusetts family believes they may have been targeted after a group of teenagers set off fireworks next to their yard signs supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Jason Caggiano was at his Lynnfield home Monday night when he suddenly heard his daughter shouting for help.
“By the time I came out, the explosion had already occurred,” explained Caggiano.
But his security camera had captured what happened. Just after 8:00 p.m., the footage shows a car pulling up across the street from the Caggiano home. Two people can be seen walking over to the front lawn, lighting something and then running back to the car. An explosion then lights up the sky.
“It just blew up and went in any direction,” Caggiano said, “Luckily not through my front window.”
A relative posted the footage on social media, asking the public for help in identifying the culprits. By Tuesday morning, the Caggiano family learned three male teenagers had come forward to take responsibility.
Caggiano then took his young daughter, who witnessed the explosion, to the Lynnfield Police Department to meet with the teens. They apologized, but denied their actions were racially motivated.
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“It seems too coincidental to be honest,” Caggiano explained hours after the meeting. “I’ll take them at their word for that. We are the only house on this street with the signs.”
According to a joint statement from the Lynnfield Town Board of Selectmen and police chief, the town’s school district was notified of the incident and will work with police to come up with a restorative justice plan.
Meanwhile, Caggiano and his wife have no plans to remove their signs. If anything, they believe this has underscored the need for them.
“Regardless of whether this was an attack on our sign and our message, we are going to keep them up,” said Carly Caggiano. “We’ll add ten more.”
