“There are frigging Black males outside my frigging house with firearms. Please send PD,”

[Liberal_in_LA]

Neighborhood Watchman’ Kills Unarmed 20-Year-Old Black Male



Early Sunday morning, Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas, 20, was shot for being Black while attending a house party near the home of self-proclaimed neighborhood watchman Chad Copley in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thomas’ tragic death echoes the circumstances surrounding Trayvon Martin’s death in Sanford, Florida, in 2012.

Copley fired a single shotgun blast from inside his garage at partygoers just after 1 a.m., following a call he made to 911 stating “hoodlums” with firearms were in his neighborhood. The shot struck Thomas, who was out near the street. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Jalen Lewis told WTVR he hosted the party at his home, two doors down from Copley, where Thomas was one of 50 people who showed up. Lewis said he didn’t see any of his guests carrying a gun and wasn’t aware of anyone causing problems. Thomas’ friends said he did not have a gun. Police found no weapons outside.

“The man’s body was right in front of the mailbox,” Lewis said, pointing at Copley’s mailbox. “I don’t know how [Thomas] was a threat from the garage.”

In his initial 911 call Copley told the dispatcher, “I am locked and loaded. I’m going outside to secure my neighborhood. You need to send PD as quickly as possible.”

“I’m sorry. You’re going out to do what to the neighborhood, sir?” the dispatcher asked.
http://www.diversityinc.com/news/neighborhood-watchman-kills-unarmed-20-year-old-black-male/?utm_term=%27Neighborhood%20Watchman%27%20Kills%20Unarmed%2020-Year-Old%20Black%20Male&utm_campaign=Trump%20Speculates%20People%20Could%20Shoot%20Hillary%20Clinton&utm_content=email&utm_source=Act-On+Software&utm_medium=email&cm_mmc=Act-On%20Software-_-email-_-Trump%20Speculates%20People%20Could%20Shoot%20Hillary%20Clinton-_-%27Neighborhood%20Watchman%27%20Kills%20Unarmed%2020-Year-Old%20Black%20Male

[Buckeye_Democrat]

1. Oh my God. Another fearful and paranoid white man.

Rest in peace.

I hope that nut gets the book thrown at him!

[MH1]

2. Charged with murder, remanded without bond.

Sounds like he isn't likely to get out. Good.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article94904167.html

[MohRokTah]

5. It only takes one asshole on a jury, though.

I hope the man is convicted and pays the highest penalty in North Carolina for first degree murder.

[obamanut2012]

67. NC has the death penalty

[Hortensis]

69. There's something wrong with this person, Moh,

and he's living in a time when people work on TV and online to inflame it every day. At best his life has just changed very much for the worse forever. He will almost certainly never see his home again.

[Vattel]

3. Apparently he has had the book thrown at him. He is charged with first degree murder

according to the linked report.

[TexasBushwhacker]

38. I read they were going to pursue the death penalty

That may mean he'll plead guilty to get a life sentence, if he doesn't get killed in jail first.

[tblue37]

18. I do NOT believe he was afraid. I think he was hunting. nt

[Lithos]

31. I beg to differ

I think he was afraid... Hunting is calculated, fear is a primal instinct lacking in executive function..

However, I also think this was racially motivated and his fear was from the color of his victim's skin... Such is the state of the world. Very sad.

That said, racism is not an excuse - and I think you and I would agree - this is definitely 1st degree murder. I hope the legal system does not stop short here.

L-

To add:

Black Lives Matter!

[tblue37]

32. His comments in the 911 call suggest that he was angry that black people were in his neighborhood.

But on everything else, we certainly do agree.

[Lithos]

52. Yep

It's semantics, yet no matter what in the end this person needs to be held accountable for this egregious 1st degree murder.

[brush]

55. Fry his ass.

Firing a shotgun from his garage at a group of party attendees out on the street totally unaware of him.

That coward was just itching to shoot somebody — no, I take that back. He was itching to shoot a black guy.

[uponit7771]

68. Hunting because he lawfully can after TM and SC has SYG provisions.

[ms liberty]

96. And Raleigh is in NC, not SC. n/t

[Buckeye_Democrat]

36. You might be right. I don't really know in this case, but...

... I know from hearing some racists around here that they're essentially afraid of black men. They think black men (and women to a lesser degree) are constantly scheming ways to rob or assault them. If they see black people rioting on TV, they see it as affirmation of their established beliefs.

I hear them open up sometimes, usually because they assume I'm "like them" since I'm about the whitest person around without being an albino. I doubt they would open up with black people that way.

EDIT: I'm going to take a wild guess that many black people essentially fear white people as well. It's a sad situation.

[uponit7771]

70. No, not really because of exposure. I never understood that some white people rarely or throughout

... their lifetime in American can not be exposed personally in any category to PoC until my wife said that people where she goes want to feel her hair... IN AMERICA... that's usually what we got while we were in foreign countries and put up with it to a certain degree.

People usually fear what they don't know... the people who seem to me comfortable around PoC are people who are comfortable in their own skin, willing to help humans (no matter what kind of human) and exposed to all kinds of people.... aka progressives.

Blacks on the other hand are exposed to whites people (still 60% of the population) in multiple areas of life personally so I don't see blacks fearing whites all together just blacks fearing laws that allows people to kill without much consequence...


That's my fear at least

[Buckeye_Democrat]

125. Thanks for your feedback!

Sometimes that touching business goes both ways.

My family knew the family of Cris Carter, the former wide receiver in the NFL and a Hall of Famer. Cris was a round-shaped fat kid as a preschooler. My older brother played basketball with his older brothers Butch and George in the driveway of our home. I wasn't old enough to remember them, and they later moved away with their mother to another town. (My family later moved too.)

Anyway, those black kids were fascinated by my father's super-hairy arms. They would sometimes stroke his arm hair, which made my Dad laugh.

They were just kids, though. That's really weird for adults to ever do such a thing. I haven't personally seen it myself, but I'll take your word for it.

[heaven05]

114. racist hate of the american nazi party led by trump

the only feeling I have out in this society in this day and age is the feeling I had when leaving basecamp 46 years ago, I must be hyper aware of the enemy before their racist hate takes me out and do what I have to do to protect my sacred life. They have NO RIGHT based on their white skin, insanity and fuhrer fever to try to kill me. I am getting sick of this place called amerikkka.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

134. I'm sorry. It's indeed a bad situation.

I can assure you that many white people don't think along those lines, but it's scary knowing that there's some hateful kooks out there.

EDIT: I also suspect that the NRA has become a refuge for some of them. If you look back at the history of the NRA, it used to promote more gun control. During the civil rights movements in the 60's, some black groups took a more violent approach (and I understand how that could happen). Scared whites saw Black Panthers openly carrying guns in the streets and on the steps of government buildings. Their later hero, Ronald Reagan, signed a strict gun control bill as governor of California as a result. Around the mid-70's, a known racist (who had actually shot an immigrant from Mexico dead in earlier years) took over the NRA and promoted the armament of white people to "protect" themselves. Now we're here. The NRA doesn't openly make racist remarks, but several members basically understand it.

[TexasBushwhacker]

37. I agree. He called 911 to cover his ass

He told the operator he was part of the neighborhood watch (there isn't one), that he was "locked and loaded". He gave the dispatcher t.he street, but refused to give them his address or even an intersection nearby.

If you ask me, him saying he was going to "secure the neighborhood" was code for "hunt some ni**ers".

[struggle4progress]

57. People who are afraid can be unpredictably dangerous

[Monk06]

60. You are 100% correct he was stucturing the 911 call to justify homicide under cover of law

Warning shot as required by law

There is no such law

He just thought he could get away with killing a n****r Just like Zimmerman got away with it

[uponit7771]

71. +1

[geardaddy]

116. +1

This.

[sheshe2]

4. All I have is tears

[KMOD]

6. Black Lives Matter.

This fear of black people has got to stop.

Heartbreaking.

[REP]

8. So much this

I realize that part of my privilege was being taught as a child to reject the kind of indoctrination that teaches me to fear someone whose skin is darker than mine. That shouldn't be something that has to be taught (and that was pointed out to me, too). Besides the disgrace of dehumanizing fellow beings, it serves to keep us divided.

[KMOD]

10. I hold out hope in watching our children.

The children today don't distinguish it, unless they are taught to. Sadly, we still have too many adults, i.e. Trump, who feed our children these horrible ideas.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

12. Trump and kids.

[nomorenomore08]

25. I won't claim to be immune to society's innate racial prejudices, but at least I was never taught

explicitly to fear anyone based on skin color. One reason I'm glad I grew up where I did.

[tblue37]

19. That wasn't fear. That was hatred. nt

[KMOD]

21. It just needs to stop.

[tblue37]

26. Yes, it certainly does! nt

[Lithos]

35. Hatred and Fear are interchangeable

Both involve an absence of executive function and both feed on the other.

In this case, I would argue both were in play.

Still.. he's guilty - 1st degree. This is not an excuse... He was not threatened. This is outrageous behavior.

L-

For the record, I'm quibbling over semantics here. This guy is a bastard f*ck and is guilty of 1st degree murder. No excuses for his behavior...

[Locrian]

110. good points

in regard to fear and hate feeding off each other
And somehow we have to find a way to reduce both

[fishwax]

23. .

[GReedDiamond]

7. This Copley jerk is a racist, lying, inbred moron asshole...

...I'm not too big on the death penalty, but if it ends up being used on this freak, so be it.

[rusty quoin]

56. They gave him the ability to have guns

and the ability to use his judgement to use those guns at his own discretion. They just assumed that a guy with a gun, especially a white guy was fit to choose when to shoot. What could go wrong?

I believe Florida passed the laws first...shoot first..I'm scared..don't blame me. White fucking people have been crossing streets for decades when a black person is on the same side. Sometimes I am truely astonished at how stupid our country is. Other times I just expect it.

[alfredo]

120. It's better than a Black man having to step into the gutter, and tip his hat as a white passes.

Us whites have sown the fear because of what we did to the Blacks. Payback is a bitch

[Ilsa]

9. When I turned Sirius radio on in my car today,

I had to reset by hitting the radio buttom several times, switching through AM and FM to get to Stephanie Miller. When it was on the AM station, a talk radio host was on with a caller.

Despite the decrease in crime throughout most of the US, both the host and caller were terrified. Scared to death. Of everything. The GOP has poor little old ladies and middle aged men pissing into their Depends with fear.

Whatever happened to the land of the free and the home of the brave? What a bunch of goddam cowards. And this shooter in Raleigh is one of the worst. He went out and shot an unarmed man two doors down because he was a hateful coward. I hope the a judge throws him in jail for the max, and I hope Thomas's family sues him for everything he's got.

[Skittles]

11. locked and loaded, with one of THOSE PEOPLE as a target

sounds like the typical gun humping wet dream

[retrowire]

13. i understand at worst, firing the gun into the air

But to point and fire directly into the party?

God damnit!

[nomorenomore08]

27. And that's only if he had legitimate reason to fear for his own safety. Which he didn't.

But firing at random into a crowd was both brainless and unconscionable.

[cwydro]

76. You do realize that bullet has to come down somewhere, right?

People have been killed by these so called "shots in the air."

And why? Why do you think it's ok for him to fire in the air? Because black people were partying in his neighborhood?

Smh.

[retrowire]

93. ahem

A shotgun.

Fires buckshot.

Buckshot is made of tiny pellets.

Those pellets don't have enough mass to obtain the velocity necessary on its return by gravity to harm people.

A bullet. Yes.

A shotgun shell. No.

Please sit down. I've attended banging house parties like the ones these awesome people were throwing.

I've attended them in that same city.

These people are my neighbors. Don't get all fucking indignant on your high horse up there just because someone suggested "at worst" a warning by blast in the air. That's common around here and it's not dangerous.

Knowledge:

Buckshot does not come down lethally. The tiny pellets do not obtain the velocity necessary.

http://forensicoutreach.com/library/the-falling-bullet-myths-legends-and-terminal-velocity/

Shooting centerfire rifle and pistol cartridges into the air is a stupid thing to do. Getting hit by a .45 or any 30 caliber class rifle projectile is likely to inflict serious damage requiring medical attention but unlikely to be deadly. 9mm or .223 rounds are liable to be like getting shot on top of the head with a paintball gun when you’re not expecting it. It’ll hurt, it could well knock you out, but you’re unlikely to require medical attention. Buckshot and .22lr is probably akin to a kid throwing a small rock at you.

[cwydro]

102. So you're good with some asshat firing a shotgun near a crowd of people at a party?

"It's common around here." Really??

I was born and raised in NC, and I've NEVER known it to be "common" to fire any sort of weapon around groups of people.

[retrowire]

104. i was born and raised here too.

Yep. Common.

I'm not saying that makes it right.

Please notice that I said "at worst" meaning the worst this situation ever should have gotten is firing it into the air.

[cwydro]

105. No, it's not common.

We have land out in the country where guns are fired frequently. But most know better than to fire around large groups of people.

In the city, you'd have the cops on you in a skinny minute.

I have friends in your area, and they would find this laughable. You must live in a pretty wild neighborhood.

[retrowire]

109. mkay.

Depends on what you do in life that determines what danger you near.

For me, common.

[cwydro]

133. No idea what that first sentence meant.

If you have neighbors who shoot into the air regularly, and you think that's cool - that speaks volumes about you.

Wow.

[retrowire]

139. i said at worst.

Meaning, that's the worst scenario that I could accept.

Meaning, if I had neighbors doing that, they would be the worst neighbors and it's the worst I could accept. Unless it kept happening of course.

So no, I never said it was cool.

This is the last time I explain the English language to you.

[Locrian]

113. buckshot != birdshot (tiny pellets). Buckshot (#00) is 8x 0.330" diameter lead pellets - n/t

[heaven05]

115. big deal

indignant high horse appropriate here. So if the party noise say as an example, started annoying you but no one was threatening you, a shot in the air is ok? Such intellectual attention to who and what will kill. Such distraction from the point of someone died here at the hand of a racist pig who probably knew everything you just explained so he went centermass for the kill shot. How's that for intellectual analysis of a racist murder ala zimmerman. Given the state this happened in, I seriously doubt this racist pig will spend time in prison. I'll be following this one closely.

[retrowire]

126. i said at worst.

Try the fuck again.

[heaven05]

130. don't have to

point and scoooorrrreeeee!!!!!!

[retrowire]

132. a point for the inability to read nuance

Isn't much of a point at all.

Hilarious that you're treating an online discussion as a game with "points"

There are things more worthy of pride.

[obamanut2012]

82. You do realize shooting into the air in a neighborhood is both dangerous and illegal?

NC is my home state, and I received my CCW permit there. Brandishing is a felony. Firing into the air like that is a felony. Going out to secure his neighborhood is a felony, even without shooting anyone.

The Kochs, Art Pope, and gerrymandering have ruined my home state, but its heart is still good, and what this guy did isn't being lauded there, except by the very lowest of scum suckers. Kudos to Raleigh LEOs for quickly arresting him, the DA and judge for holding him without bond.

[retrowire]

94. i live right next to the city of raleigh

Buckshot does not come down lethally. The tiny pellets do not obtain the velocity necessary.

http://forensicoutreach.com/library/the-falling-bullet-myths-legends-and-terminal-velocity/

Shooting centerfire rifle and pistol cartridges into the air is a stupid thing to do. Getting hit by a .45 or any 30 caliber class rifle projectile is likely to inflict serious damage requiring medical attention but unlikely to be deadly. 9mm or .223 rounds are liable to be like getting shot on top of the head with a paintball gun when you’re not expecting it. It’ll hurt, it could well knock you out, but you’re unlikely to require medical attention. Buckshot and .22lr is probably akin to a kid throwing a small rock at you.

[cwydro]

101. Thank you.

I also live in NC.

No one should be shooting any gun in a populated area.

[mythology]

14. If the initial reports of the 911 call are accurate, this seems a lot like premeditated murder

The tough guy locked and loaded language and "frigging blacks" to me is indicative that he had already made up his mind before even calling the police. Unless some evidence that hasn't been presented yet comes out, this guy should spend the next 25 to life in prison.

[George II]

15. LOCK HIM UP! This is as bad as the Florida case where at least, thank God, the shooter....

...Michael Dunn, will be in prison for life.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

16. Killed by a shotgun

fired from in the garage and the victim by the mailbox? Of course I've not seen any pictures but that seems outside the range of a shotgun doesn't it?

[obamanut2012]

84. No

[anoNY42]

90. If it has a full barrel

then no. Probably less range that a normal skeet shoot.

[Codeine]

91. 75 yards is usually considered an effective range for a shotgun.

They're as deadly as any other firearm, sadly.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

142. are you sure you don't mean 75 feet?

75 yards is a long way for buckshot to travel

Here is something I found on the web regarding range of buckshot. http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-42-precision-shooting-with-buckshot/
I want to point out, I am not excusing the shooter, just that the report seems off to me. In other words, maybe the shooter was a lot closer to the victim.

[Akicita]

17. How in the world does this echo the Trayvon Martin case. Was Thomas beating Copley's head

into the sidewalk when Copley shot him? I think not. This sounds like pure murder by panic to me.

[raging moderate]

20. Was Trayvon really doing that? I am not convinced. Anyway, he had been pursued.

In both cases, the Black person was minding his own business, and the "white" person went out of his way, with no provocation, to go out and kill somebody.

[KMOD]

22. yup

and we all need to say enough is enough.

Black Lives Matter.

[Akicita]

33. Wrong. You are correct in saying the black person was minding his own business in both cases. The

difference is that when Trayvon confronted shithead(as he turned out to be), Trayvon coldcocked him, got him on the ground and was beating his head into the cement sidewalk. That's what you would call no provocation. Most people would call that a life threatening situation.

In this latest case, it appears that the homeowner just panicked because there were a lot of black people in his neighbor4hood so he opened fire with a shotgun and killed someone. If that is the case he should convicted and sent to prison. Apples and oranges.

[KMOD]

40. And why exactly was Zimmerman stalking Trayvon?

Did it ever cross you mind that Trayvon feared Zimmerman?

I believe he did. And sadly, he was correct to fear him.

[Akicita]

46. I have no doubt that Trayvon feared Zimmerman. Yet when they confronted each other it was Trayvon

that escalated the situation by cold cocking Zimmerman, getting him to the ground, and was smashing his head against the sidewalk.
At that point Zimmerman, shithead that he is, had to decide if his life was in danger. The jury and Barack Obama's Justice Department agreed that his life was indeed in danger and he was justified in pulling the trigger.

[KMOD]

53. The confrontation was because Zimmerman stalked Trayvon.

Trayvon also clearly felt his life was in danger.

And as time goes on, and we see what a mess Zimmerman really is, Trayvon's fears have been proven to be spot on.

[Solomon]

58. Aw Jeezuz what fucking bullshit.

Please take it somewhere else.

[uponit7771]

79. Stalking isn't an escalation? Would it be OK for Zman to chase a 10th grader girl through a dark

... neighborhood with a loaded gun too?

Or does it not count cause TM was a black male?

[obamanut2012]

87. lolz promoting Zimmerman's narrative on DU?

That is so 2014.

...it was Trayvon that escalated the situation by cold cocking Zimmerman, getting him to the ground, and was smashing his head against the sidewalk.

[LanternWaste]

103. I've use the cover of a jury decision to validate my biases as well.

I've use the cover of a jury decision to validate my biases as well, doing so always seemed to make them more legitimate (to myself, if no one else). In my case however, I always admitted to myself that was what and why I was doing it.

[Starry Messenger]

107. Hahaha

The only thing that touched Zimmerman's precious dome was probably his car door when he needed a plausible scenario.

[heaven05]

118. I must say

we DO NOT know what threat or words were spoken by the thug/murderer zimmerman to make Trayvon Martin more fearful than he already was because of the murderer zimmerman stalking him. All we have is zpigs testimony.....and the rebuttal witness was dead. zpig could say anything. Which he did and found many fearful people fearful of brown skin that excused his murder, from the police to the final jury of HIS peers that gave him a pass on his murder.

[Chakab]

47. FYI the person that you are responding to is a troll who only emerges in race-related threads to

either deny racism or take antagonistic positions.

[KMOD]

50. Thank you.

[montana_hazeleyes]

59. I've sure been noticing the same thing about this poster.

In this story here I don't believe this racist was afraid at all. He was using arrogant right wing language with 911 and as an excuse to shoot at these people and thought he'd get away with it like Zimmerman.

In Travon's case, he had no idea who this weirdo stalking him was. He was probably very frightened of him. He probably felt he had to fight for his life, especially if Zimmerman showed he had a gun. Unfortunately, we don't get to hear what happened from Travon. I think in both cases evil racists got the chance they were looking for and murdered unarmed black males out of hate, not fear.

[obamanut2012]

86. lolz

[csziggy]

122. According to his friend Trayvon was afraid of Zimmerman

And was standing his ground. The difference is that Zimmerman had a gun and was the one who survived to tell his story.

A young man simply walking home at night in the rain was stalked by a man with a gun. Why is it OK that the young man is dead?

[uponit7771]

78. +1

[nomorenomore08]

29. We only have Zim's word on that, plus his suspiciously minor "injuries."

Just because he got 12 people in Florida to believe his story, doesn't mean the rest of us are obligated to.

[Akicita]

39. 12 people along with Barack Obama's Justice Department. That's good enough for me.

[nomorenomore08]

42. Remember that Zim was the one with an actual criminal record, and known history of violent behavior.

All the dirt they could dig up on Martin (and they really tried) basically amounted to one school suspension and one fistfight, plus a penchant for (*gasp*) smoking marijuana. Nothing suggestive of a hardened criminal.

[Chakab]

44. There were six jurors in that case, and the Justice Department declined to investigate

because the case did not meet their standard for intervention.

[Akicita]

48. After an extensive review.

[Chakab]

49. Not really.

[SwankyXomb]

51. Since Zipperhead is the only survivor

he gets to control the narrative. His buddy-buddy act with the kops didn't hurt him either.

[heaven05]

119. extensive review????

you are way off. Why are you defending zpigs actions and murder of Trayvon Martin?

[Akicita]

121. I am not defending anyone. I think Zim is a pig too. I just don't like the comparison to a guy who

opened up with a shotgun through his garage door and killed someone. The circumstances are much different than the Martin case.

[heaven05]

123. circumstances, maybe

intent? The same. Got to kill someome black.

[Chakab]

45. There's no evidence whatsoever that Zimmerman fired when Martin was on top of him.

The forensic evidence indicated that the entry wound on Martin's body was made by a round fired from "intermediate range," and there was no blood spatter on Zimmerman or his clothes that indicated that Martin was on top of him at the time the shot was fired.

[JustAnotherGen]

61. Murder by panic?

Never heard that before.

Looks like he was charged with 1st degree murder.

I think we should support the police and the leaders and not try to change the charges at DU.

I also looked up the term "murder by panic" and it only seems to pull up references to the Matthew Shepard case - or Australian law.

[Humanist_Activist]

64. Trayvon Martin had every right to bash Zimmerman's head into the sidewalk...

the only problem is that he lost the fight and Zimmerman was armed.

[Chakab]

131. Trayvon won the fist fight. It's likely he backed off when he saw the gun,

and Zimmerman shot him when they both returned to their feet.

[Humanist_Activist]

135. I don't doubt it, but with the victim dead, the perp got to walk....

Because his word is the word that matters because he got to live. If this were a just world, Zimmerman wouldn't have stalked Trayvon in the first place. He killed an innocent boy over nothing and its fucking abhorrent that there are people on DU who think Zimmerman was justified in any way. Fuck them.

[uponit7771]

72. Because Copley designated a threat and didn't remove himself from the threat when he could

[obamanut2012]

85. hahahahahahahahahaha still believing Zimmerman's narrative?

[Codeine]

92. Lovely. Look who skittered out from under the cupboard.

And with a Bernie avatar, no less.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

24. "Home of the Brave" my ass.

[awoke_in_2003]

28. Sadly, had the cops showed up...

odds are they would have shot him, too.

[nomorenomore08]

30. Even, perhaps, if he was already dead... Gotta be extra-sure, right?

[uponit7771]

75. +1, yeap... they would've at least taised him afterwards

[Buckeye_Democrat]

43. I'm almost surprised that the article didn't mention them handcuffing him before...

... an ambulance was called.

I saw a picture of the murderer. He looks pretty young! I was imagining some old fart with gray hair.

[uponit7771]

74. +1, at least people have enough evidence now to suppose this. When a person laying on the ground

... with their hands in the air is shot by the cops then wtf !!!!??!

[obamanut2012]

88. I actually very much doubt that would happen in Raleigh

And, I'm not a police apologist. I know that area very well.

[ms liberty]

97. Thank you

Reading some of these comments reminds me that our side has people who love to jump to conclusions too. mr liberty's family is from Durham and many of them live in Raleigh, so we know the area pretty well although we live 2 1/2 hours west in the rural foothills, or as I like to call it, the BFE.

[obamanut2012]

106. Yes, exactly -- especially around the Triangle area

So very blue, and many minorities. Durham is majority black, as Mr. Liberty knows.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

34. The article contained a gofundme link so a mom can bury her child.....

https://www.gofundme.com/276hhgks

[KMOD]

41. Wow. I gotta give a little to that.

[Hoyt]

54. Another example of racism among white wing gun fanciers. How long will we coddle these cretins?

[JustAnotherGen]

62. As long as people

Make excuses for them - and keep making up "fake things" to excuse their behavior.

[Warren DeMontague]

63. "i'm going to secure the neighborhood"

what the everloving fuck, Tom Clancy.

[uponit7771]

77. +1, that proves they he was hunting

[Warren DeMontague]

95. yeah

some seriously fucked up shit, right there.

[raven mad]

65. People like Copley wouldn't last 10 minutes in my neighborhood.

Bunch of moose hunters............. and very, very diverse, ask my newly-landed Korean neighbors!

[KG]

66. another douchcanoe with a gun looking for an excuse to use it.

[Lee-Lee]

73. He's gonna rot in jail if he doesn't get the death penalty. In NC you

Can't under any possible twisting of self defense law here shoot from your home to a person outside unless that person is actively trying to break in, shooting at you, or harming someone else to the point of grave bodily harm or sexual assault.

None of that is present here.

His comment about being "locked and loaded and going out to secure the neighborhood" is just the icing on the cake for the jury.

His best case scenario is the DA take a plea for life in prison to avoid the possibility of a death penalty the jury would give him.

[uponit7771]

80. +1, the "locked and loaded and going out" could be signs of premeditated murder but I feel he'll jus

... say he was threatend and that'll be enough for most people

[Lee-Lee]

128. Not in NC- leaving your home looking for the confrontation means it's on him

Absent some very, very different set of facts than what we have seen so far he has no legal defense.

[obamanut2012]

89. You can't shoot them if they are breaking in, either

Only after they DO break in. You also cannot shoot from your house period -- felony. I got my CCW permit in NC, and NC actually has very, very strict laws about this.

[Lee-Lee]

127. Incorrect

A homeowner in NC is not required to retreat before using deadly force if a person has unlawfully untested your residence or is attempting to, there is no legal requirement for the person to have completed an illegal entry. Attempted illegal entry is presumed in the law to indicate intent to inflict serious bodily harm on the occupants just as a completed illegal entry is.

See NCGS 14-51.2

I am a CCW instructor in NC, if your instructor taught that to you they failed you.

[usedtobedemgurl]

81. This is premediatated murder.....

that I agree with. I think he should spent the rest of his life in jail. And while it would feel good to say and eye for an eye, that helps no one. I do not believe in the death penalty. I cannot in good conscience condone that because there are innocent people who are killed. We cannot have the death penalty for one and not for all. The death penalty should never be used.

[obamanut2012]

83. NC is my home state

The Kochs, Art Pope, and gerrymandering have ruined my home state, but its heart is still good, and what this guy did isn't being lauded there, except by the very lowest of scum suckers. Kudos to Raleigh LEOs for quickly arresting him, the DA and judge for holding him without bond.

[raccoon]

98. I hope this paranoid idiot doesn't get off scott-free like Zimmerman did. nt

[Paladin]

99. When this sort of thing happened in Texas in 2007, the shooter got away with it.

He got away with shooting two people in the back who weren't even on his property, killing two people who posed no personal threat to him, and became a right-wing hero for doing so.

Google "Joe Horn Shootings, Pasadena, TX" for the sordid details.

[raccoon]

108. Good gosh, what kind of country are we living in? Thanks for posting.

I wasn't familiar with that case.

[Paladin]

111. It made national news at the time. Absolutely shameful. (nt)

[uponit7771]

136. Yeap, they said he was in the process of protecting someone else's property so it was legal.

[Paladin]

137. I hope to hell this new case turns out better...

...but I'm not putting any money on it happening.

[uponit7771]

140. +1

[raccoon]

138. And he had to KILL them? WTF. nt

[Blue_Tires]

100. Sounds more unhinged than Zimmerman's 911 call...

[heaven05]

112. history of amerikkka

killed this man...the continuing culture of racism as has been and is currently agitated by the New American Nazi Party and thier fuhrer killed this man. No excuses for this POS owning a lethal weapon except he's white and privileged. Oh I so hope he ends up in prison where he will have to be protected by one of the white supremacist groups in whatever prison he ends up in, IF found guilty. May he die an excruciatingly painful death.

[JustAnotherGen]

124. They are really emboldened aren't they

And it's everywhere! Everywhere!

[Xithras]

117. The 911 operator should have pointed out to the racist asshat...

...that NC is an open carry state, that open carry applies to ALL citizens without consideration of their skin color and that being a black male with a gun isn't a crime and doesn't qualify as a threatening situation. She might have also mentioned that street racing is not a crime that justifies the use of deadly force in ANY state.

Might not have mattered, but it also might have deflated his sails enough to save a life.

[HughBeaumont]

129. I blame the assholes that exonerated Zimmy, both the jury AND the public . . .

. . . this only emboldened every cousinhumping crossburner from Jersey to Alaska to test their mettle and get them a legal kill.

[rbrnmw]

141. Oh God this is so painful