Family Says 19-Year-Old Killed In Porch Shooting Was Seeking Help For Car Accident

[mountain grammy]

Source: Think Progress

Police are investigating the shooting of a 19-year-old girl who was shot dead while standing outside the front porch of a home in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. The family of Renisha McBride say she knocked on the door to the home seeking help for a car accident after her cell phone battery died, and was met with a deadly gunshot to the head, according to The Detroit News.

“He shot her in the head … for what? For knocking on his door,” McBride’s aunt, Bernita Spinks, told the Detroit News. “If he felt scared or threatened, he should have called 911. … You see a young black lady on your porch and you shoot?”


Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/11/07/2903271/family-says-19-year-killed-fatal-porch-shooting-seeking-help-car-accident/

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Depressing.. like we are at war with each other.

[SoapBox]

1. Sickening

The "excuses" about why they pulled the trigger will be amazing.

Seems like murder to me.

[nightscanner59]

2. Holy freekin becheezus, new poster child for the NRA?

That is so reprehensible

[onehandle]

3. Another Gun Culture Success Story. nt

[mike_c]

4. this is the cowardice that the gungeon reeks of all the time....

Some gun owners constantly speak of their need for "self protection" because they imagine that every young person standing on their porch at night is a potential "home invader." They carry that fear around all the time.

[msanthrope]

8. You know....I have a well-lit front porch and an obvious camera...

for a long while...it was a fake camera. I have two glass-fronted panel doors original to my house, and that means I don't have to 'open' my front door to see or hear anyone. I have a goofy 85 pound lab that licks the glass panel when people ring.

Sure....there's a gun in my home, but short of a fucking zombie invasion...I would never think to bring it to the damn front door. There are other ways to feel safe.

[rwsanders]

23. What drives me crazy about that is that they think they are the ones who are "tough"...

I stopped getting a magazine called "Cruising World" because they printed a letter to the editor from someone stating that those that don't carry a firearm on a small sailboat are "cowards" and another in the same issue that was hysterical because they had an article on green cleaners.
Anyway, off the point. Next time I encounter one of them with that attitude I'm going to ask them if they think the ancient Spartans were tough, because the Spartans thought slings and bows were the weapons of cowards, so what do they think the Spartans would say about guns.

[msanthrope]

5. What the motherfuck?? Does he shoot the Jehovahs or other solicitors

who come to his door???

[Aristus]

11. Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to bleed when they get shot.

For fear of having to undergo a transfusion...

[OneGrassRoot]

6. You're right. We have brought the war home, within our borders...

The Halliburton and Blackwater-type companies that profit from war had to shift the focus here by militarizing the police force to continue their profit-generating juggernaut. And of course they're helped by the NRA and gun manufacturers, media and other culpable parties in creating a climate of fear and "the other."

[mountain grammy]

40. I do feel like this is war.. right now war against African American teenagers,

but this gun craziness will expand. The NRA has lobbied for and won the legalization of murder, and the murderers have declared war on anyone and everyone they fear for any or no reason.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Who was that black kid shot while trick-or-treating...

a few years ago.

Shooter said it was "justified" because black kid was bigger than the others and he was scared.

I vaguely remember another one about a Brit who was lost and knocked on doors trying to get directions until someone shot him.

We like shooting people. Thanks to the castle doctrine and stand your ground, we can have the thrill of hunting the most dangerous game without feeling like a murderer.

[greiner3]

28. And a foreign student;

Who when lost knocked on wrong door and was shot dead.

[LibertyLover]

33. There was another incident similar to this one over the summer

A young black man had been in a car accident and was injured. I can't recall if he had no cell phone or if it wasn't working, anyway he walked to a nearby house, knocked on door, or rang the bell, and was shot by the homeowner who said he felt frightened. Dear Goddess, what a horror.

[xocet]

35. Here are the two incidents that I recall....

Originally published Sunday, November 2, 2008 at 12:00 AM

12-year-old trick-or-treater, mistaken for robber, killed
An ex-convict who thought he was being robbed gunned down a 12-year-old trick-or-treater, spraying nearly 30 rounds with an assault rifle from inside his home after hearing a knock on the door, police said Saturday.

By MEG KINNARD
The Associated Press

SUMTER, S.C. — An ex-convict who thought he was being robbed gunned down a 12-year-old trick-or-treater, spraying nearly 30 rounds with an assault rifle from inside his home after hearing a knock on the door, police said Saturday.

Quentin Patrick, 22, is accused of killing T.J. Darrisaw, 12, on Friday night. T.J.'s brother Ahmadre Darrisaw, 9, and their father, Freddie Grinnell, were injured but were released after being treated at a hospital.

...

Police said at least two of the boys were wearing ghoulish masks when they knocked on the door. The boys' mother and a toddler stayed in the car.

Patrick emptied his AK-47, shooting at least 29 times through his front door, walls and windows after hearing the knock, Police Chief Patty Patterson said.

...

http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2008340493_hallkill02.html

Published: May 21, 1993

Defense Depicts Japanese Boy as 'Scary'


The fatal shooting of Yoshihiro Hattori, 16, has until now been largely seen as a result of a tragic mismatch of cultural styles: a young Japanese exchange student unused to weapons, trustingly approaching a suburban American householder for whom guns are second nature.

But that scenario, one that has become a Japanese nightmare of America, was turned on its head by a defense lawyer today in a packed Louisiana courtroom. On the night of Oct. 17, he said, Yoshihiro Hattori was acting in a menacing, "aggressive" fashion, like a stranger invading someone's home turf. And the home was defended by a .44-magnum with a laser scope.

This was the account of events offered by the lawyer for Rodney Peairs in opening statements in the trial of the 31-year-old assistant meat market manager on a charge of manslaughter.

...

The shooting of Mr. Hattori, who was looking for a Halloween party in the Baton Rouge suburbs when he mistakenly knocked on Mr. Peairs's door the night of Oct. 17, shocked the people of Japan, and the courtroom has been packed with Japanese reporters.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/21/us/defense-depicts-japanese-boy-as-scary.html

[Beacool]

9. I read this story, heartbreaking and infuriating.

What kind of sick bastard shoots a teenage girl for merely knocking on his door? If we all did that, there would be plenty of dead Jehovah Witnesses throughout the country. The even worse part is that the guy may get away with it.

This case was just as appalling:

"Last month, police in North Carolina fatally shot a man who was seeking help after a car accident. Jonathan A. Ferrell, a 24-year-old former Florida A&M University football player, also knocked on the door of a home nearby seeking help, according to reports. But in this instance, an occupant did call the police. As Ferrell approached the police, they hit him with a Taser and then shot him. One of the officers was charged with voluntary manslaughter."

[ReRe]

18. For a minute...

when I first seen the headline of this threads OP, I thought it was a repeat of the NC shooting last month. That boy in NC didn't have a drop of drugs or alcohol in his system. Our society is eat up with those who have absolutely no respect for life. (Unless of course it's a fetus in some unknown woman or girl's body.)

[MrScorpio]

10. It's always been open season on black people in this country

This poor woman is just the latest victim.

[giftedgirl77]

12. To top it off LEO supposedly initally told

the family that she was located in a different location behind a dumpster. She was shot in the back of the head as she was walking off the porch. Clearly a threat/s.

Last I heard they are considering charges.

[FiveGoodMen]

13. "considering charges"

They should be considering life without parole.

[giftedgirl77]

14. Exactly...

I'm on my phone or I would add emphasis & links. I read the story at Rawstory. This shit is out of control, the right wing fear mongering is responsible for this bullshit & I fear that it is only going to get worse.

[brer cat]

25. +1. Exactly. nt

[myrna minx]

15. I remember a time when that would be considered murder.

My hear aches for her family.

[FreakinDJ]

16. The Haunting results of the Zimmermen Verdict

Racist every where think they have a license to shoot people of color on site

[Dash87]

17. If your obsession is hammers, you'll see everything as a nail.

In the same vein, this obsession may translate to waiting for the day when a gun can finally be used, and the hero fantasy can be made a reality.

[ronnie624]

20. Right on. n/t

[billh58]

22. Very true, and the irony

is that these wannabe "heroes" are in reality cowards of the highest order. The paranoia that compels them to have a gun nearby at all times makes them extremely dangerous to others as evidenced in this and many other similar incidents.

[rwsanders]

24. Interesting you said that...

I had to take an ethics class as a prerequisite for the program I am in. The teacher promised to "challenge our assumptions" and make "outrageous statements" to "get us to think". The class was completely tame.
So one day we were talking about guns and I made a similar statement about owners fanaticizing about being able to use them. THAT got a reaction. Still believe it. Their all Zimmerman in their own mind, when in reality they're a bunch of Elmer Fudds.

[AtheistCrusader]

19. This is just sad.

I don't even know what to say.

[alcibiades_mystery]

21. Gun Nut Shitheadery strikes again...they spend so much time convincing people that

they're in mortal danger all the time, and need need need that gun to protect themselves all the time everywhere, everywhere (the n*ggers are lurking, waiting to kill you). Gun nut mantra, whatever lipstick they put on their racist hate.

So is it any surprise? Is it any surprise that gun nut shitheads gun down African Americans and other minorities at the drop of a hat. Assholes. I fucking despise these people. Fuck you, gunner trash.

[Drale]

26. This is the kind of story that makes me want to rethink my position on the death penalty /nt

[Cleita]

27. This is what the gun culture says. You have to have a weapon to defend your family.

This is one of the results. More often it results in a family member being killed by the shoot first and then think about it later crowd. Yes, calling 911 would have been a better choice.

[tosh]

29. Will this never end???

[samsingh]

31. not while gun lovers have their insane way

[billh58]

32. Not until we

can make the Koch Brothers and the NRA politically impotent. The cold-dead-hands gun nut minority has no political power on their own, and can easily be regulated into obscurity without the right-wing money machine behind them.

Poll after poll shows that most Americans (including many gun owners) are ready for sensible gun regulation aimed at reducing the obscene level of gun violence in this nation.

[samsingh]

30. completely sickening

this is what happens when people are encouraged to use guns by the gun lovers

[toddwv]

34. He shot her in the BACK of the head.

She was leaving.

This is nothing short of an execution style murder.

[blackspade]

36. that is fucked up.

[JI7]

37. WHy hasn't the person who Shot her been arrested and charged with Murder ?

[.99center]

38. So sick of seeing countless deaths

Committed by the average Joe. Throw a bit of fear, paranoia, and the wrong tool in their hands to deal with their rational fear of a stranger on your porch, neighborhood, neighbors lawn in this country and this is what you get, day after day.

[yurbud]

39. is it possible right wing talk radio has made ordinary racists hyper-paranoid?

I certainly heard some nasty racist shit from my elders when I was a kid but back then, you would never see the worst of it confirmed on TV and radio.

Apart from using the N word, Rush and the rest don't put that much daylight between themselves and Jim Crow era segregationists.