A Michigan man who faces possible murder charges in the shooting death of 19-year-old Renisha McBride now claims the shooting was accidental.
McBride knocked on the door of a home in Dearborn Heights, Mich., seeking help after she wrecked her car around 2:30 a.m. Her family said her cell phone battery had died.
Instead of assisting the teen, the homeowner stepped out on his porch and shot her in the face with a shotgun. Media reports previously stated McBride was shot in the back of the head as she turned to walk or run.
The Detroit Free Press reported Thursday that the unidentified homeowner told police he thought McBride was there to rob him. He said his shotgun discharged accidentally.
Writer dream hampton joined 100 other supporters who demonstrated for justice for Renisha in Dearborn Heights on Thursday.
“We need transparency in this case,” hampton, a writer and activist, told The Huffington Post before the rally. “I was just outraged by this story, I really was. I asked some friends to meet me at the police department to demand some justice.”
“This shooting must be investigated at every level,” a spokesperson for the Detroit branch of the NAACP said in a statement.
Dearborn Heights police initially said they found the teen’s body “dumped” in a suburban area near Warren and Outer Drive. McBride went missing after her family saw her leave home in her white Ford Taurus on Friday, Nov. 1. The family was not notified of McBride’s death until Monday, Nov. 4, according to McBride’s aunt Bernita Spinks.
Spinks believes the homeowner was not justified in shooting McBride in the back.
“You see a young black lady on your porch and you shoot?” said Spinks.
“He killed my niece and he needs to pay for it. He needs to be in jail.
“There was no window broken. My niece didn’t bother anyone. She went looking for help and now she’s dead.”
McBride’s death comes less than two months after Charlotte police shot and killed a former football player who sought help at a residence after wrecking his car.
More from Sandrarose.com:
