A New York City high school student who says he was bullied has been convicted of manslaughter and assault in the fatal stabbing of a classmate.
A judge handed down the guilty verdict against Abel Cedeno (seh-DAYN’-yoh) on Monday at a non-jury trial in the Bronx.
Cedeno had been accused of killing 15-year-old Matthew McCree and wounding another student inside their classroom in 2017. Prosecutors claimed Cedeno came to school that day with a knife and was the aggressor in the attack.
It was the first homicide inside a New York City school since 1993.
The 19-year-old defendant testified that he never intended to use the weapon but acted in self-defense after years of being bullied for being gay.
Cedeno faces five to 25 years in prison at sentencing on Sept. 10.
