'Rev' Gets 2+Decades Prison After Shooting Student In Head

JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — A former school employee who styled himself as an anti-violence clergyman was found guilty of attempting to murder a student he had recruited to sell marijuana. Today Shaun O. Harrison, 58, of Roxbury, also known as "Rev" was sentenced to 23 to 26 years in prison for shooting a 17-year-old high school student execution-style in the back of the head in 2015.

The judge sentenced him to 18 to 20 years on the assault-related charges followed by five to six years on the gun charges and then after serving around a quarter century in prison he will have five years probation for the drug charges, according to the District Attorney's Office.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury Thursday found Harrison guilty of armed assault with intent to murder, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession with intent to distribute a Class D substance, and two counts each of unlawful possession of a rifle or shotgun and unlawful possession of ammunition. Jurors deliberated for approximately one day before returning the verdicts.

At the time of the shooting. Harrison was an employee and mentor for at-risk youth at Boston's English High School in JP. Harrison was the unofficial "Dean of Academy" at English, where he served as a family outreach coordinator. Harrison was known around town as "Rev," short for reverend (though he may not have been ordained,) and was a community organizer and churchgoer. He was outspoken about violence in the community and he'd worked for the school system for about five years.

But throughout the week-long trial it came out that Harrison was actually leading a double life and a crime-drug network. Harrison used his position to befriend an at-risk teen he was assigned to work with. Rather than help him, he recruited the 17-year-old boy to sell marijuana for him in the high school cafeteria.

The teen told police he visited Harrison's apartment in Roxbury, held a gun and smoked marijuana with the older man. Other teens took the stand to corroborate this throughout the trial.

Unhappy with the victim’s sales on March 3, 2015, Harrison first arranged for the teen to be assaulted at school. Harrison then texted him to meet near Harrison’s Pompeii Street apartment that evening.

The two met and were walking down Magazine Street when Harrison fell a bit behind the teen, shooting him in the head from behind. When the teen collapsed, Harrison is seen on surveillance video running away.

The student survived and was able to stand and flag down help. He was transported to Boston Medical Center, where he identified Harrison – using his nickname “Rev” – as the person who shot him. Harrison denied this and pleaded not guilty.

“This defendant presented himself as a man of faith dedicated to helping young people,” Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said. “Instead he exploited his position to earn the trust of vulnerable youth and prey on them...He betrayed the victim and he betrayed the community he claimed to serve. It was only by sheer luck that the victim survived this attempted execution to identify Harrison for what he is – a violent predator and a fraud.”

Read more about the case:

• Ex English High School Dean Convicted Of Shooting Student
• BPS Employee Accused of Shooting Student Fires Lawyer (2016)
• Former School Employee Shoots Teen (2015)
• English High School Employee Accused Of Shooting Teen (2015)

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