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Canton up in arms after local teens allegedly trash house, kick dead rabbit on video
“The Canton Public Schools and the Canton police are conducting a comprehensive investigation,” town officials said of the Nov. 23 incident.
An investigation is underway in Canton after juveniles allegedly trashed a home in town last month and were caught on camera kicking what appeared to be a dead rabbit inside the house.
Video of the incident circulated on social media last week ahead of Thanksgiving, purportedly showing local teens busting holes in the walls of a home that was apparently under construction. The clip drew a fiery response online, which spilled over into Tuesday’s Canton Select Board meeting following coverage from the Boston Herald and controversial Turtleboy blogger Aidan Kearney.
“I and my family, and people I’ve talked with — we are just devastated to see the video of the destruction that went on at that house party on York Street,” Canton resident Susan Carlson told the board, noting she cried when she first watched the video. “It was so disheartening.”
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Canton Police Chief Helena Rafferty confirmed juveniles were involved in a “malicious damage event” in town on Saturday, Nov. 23. Canton police received a call the following morning, she said. Rafferty declined to provide further details on the incident or investigation, which she said is “still a very active investigation regarding juveniles.”
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Select Board Chair Michael C. Loughran opened Tuesday’s meeting with a statement on behalf of the board, acknowledging “the situation that some younger members of our community were involved with recently.”
“The Canton Public Schools and the Canton police are conducting a comprehensive investigation,” Loughran said. “Where there are perceived conflicts of interest, CPD is already working with outside investigators to deal with those individuals. Any questions about the investigation should be directed through the Canton police.”
Canton has faced heightened scrutiny in recent years amid high-profile and controversial investigations in the Karen Read and Sandra Birchmore cases. Read’s lawyers say a law enforcement conspiracy framed her for killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, who was found unresponsive outside a Canton home in January 2022. The 44-year-old is facing a second murder trial next year following a July mistrial.
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Birchmore, a pregnant 23-year-old, was found dead in her Canton apartment in 2021. State investigators initially ruled her death a suicide, but federal authorities later charged Matthew Farwell, a former Stoughton police detective, and accused him of strangling Birchmore to cover up a years-long sexual relationship that allegedly began when she was underage.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, Rita Lombardi — a vocal figure in the “Free Karen Read” movement — described a recent feeling of “hopefulness” in Canton, particularly in light of a Special Town Meeting vote to back a new middle school building project.
“Then, not even a week after the vote,” she said, “we learned that Canton High School juniors and seniors out drinking and partying deliberately caused significant damage to a newly built home of a fellow classmate. From what I am told, her family just obtained permission to move in. Now their home requires extensive repair.”
Another resident who spoke at the meeting, Brenda Sweeney, called for a moment of silence for the “helpless rabbit that was brutally killed for fun” on Nov. 23.
“I would like to ask for another moment of silence for the respect the rest of the world has lost for Canton,” she added. “The citizens of this town are devastated by this loss.”
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Carlson told the Select Board she’s heard some of the teens involved in the incident are student-athletes, and Loughran noted Canton Public Schools is responding “appropriately within their guidelines and the MIAA guidelines,” referring to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Carlson called on the community to take a hard look at its values.
“It’s not OK. It’s not OK for the kids in our town to be doing this,” she said. “Obviously we need to teach our children better than that.”
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