What started as a perfect father-daughter day quickly spiraled into a disturbing and emotional moment neither of them will soon forget. Ten-year-old Azaylia Brown was enjoying the start of summer break with her dad, Sheron Brown, on Memorial Day when a man on shore began yelling racial slurs and throwing rocks at them while they fished from a boat on Lake Shirley in Lunenburg, Massachusetts.
Before everything unraveled, the Browns had stopped at Athens Pizza in Leominster for Azaylia’s favorite pepperoni pie, then headed to the lake for a relaxing afternoon. With fishing rods, slices of pizza, and sunshine, it was shaping up to be an ideal outing.
But as Sheron put it, it became his daughter’s first encounter with racism.
According to Brown, the incident began when a man—identified in court filings as David McPartlan, 66, of Ayer—came out of his home near the lake and started yelling at them. Brown said McPartlan questioned why they were fishing near his property and insisted they go somewhere else.
“I’m here with my daughter. It’s Memorial Day. Why are you targeting me?” Brown recalled saying.
Things escalated when McPartlan began shouting profanities and told them, “You guys think you own the lake.” Brown tried to stay calm and explained they were farther from the dock than other fishermen had been earlier, but that didn’t de-escalate the situation.
Brown said the man then threw a large rock into the water near their boat. In a video Brown captured during the confrontation, he’s heard saying, “Did you just throw a rock at me?” McPartlan responds, “Yeah, I threw rocks at you,” followed by a racial slur. Brown immediately called the police.
The Lunenburg Police Department confirmed that McPartlan will be summoned on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault to intimidate.
As for young Azaylia, she sat silently on the boat as her dad was verbally attacked. At one point, she turned to him and asked, “What did we do wrong?” Brown reassured her, “We didn’t do anything wrong. This guy is being mean.”
But Brown, 53, knows the pain runs deeper. “My daughter witnessed it, where someone calls her father that word,” he said. “I’m forced to explain things to her when I may not be ready.” With emotion building in his voice, he added, “I’m not prepared. How do you prepare for that situation?”
Brown, a competitive fisherman and IT professional, has been coming to Lake Shirley for years with his kids. He said he’s built relationships in the community, gifted fishing gear to local children, and has never experienced racism there—until now.
Though shaken, Brown said he doesn’t want his daughter to carry this experience as a reflection of everyone.
“I don’t hold lake residents, white people, white males, anyone that fits within that category, accountable for one person’s actions. His actions are solo—he did this on his own,” Brown said.
Still, he added, “Racism does exist … even in Massachusetts.”
Brown hopes that by speaking out, he can raise awareness—not just about racism, but also about the importance of showing respect around children and embracing the peaceful nature of fishing as a family activity.